Swan Song
by ellalive
Summary: Bella Swan was living a lie.  Now, even that facade is crumbling down around her.  When her father's illegal corporate empire is on the brink of destruction, there's only one person she can turn to.  Only one person who can save her.  AH, canon.
1. Prologue

A/N: This plot is from an original story of mine that I've decided to turn into a fanfiction. It's my first one, so be gentle. This is just the prologue. Anything resembling Twilight obviously belongs to Steph.

**###**

_They could be dead. _Unnerved, I sighed in frustration and fidgeted, trying to think of anything else. Like my trigonometry homework, for instance.

It seemed ridiculous that I was stuck at home on a Friday night doing schoolwork. I should be out with friends like a normal teenager. I've never really fit into the 'normal teenager' mold though.

A majority of the people in my life don't know the half of it. They don't know who my father really is or what really goes on behind closed doors in the Swan household. It's best that they don't. For their own protection. It angered my father that I was involved in his way of life at all. I could and should resent him for dragging me into it, but I don't. I love my father. He's all that I have. Well, almost all that I have.

I glanced up at the clock. It was almost midnight. My father and company should be home by now. They had all been gone for over a week and I was practically dying with anticipation to see them. That was also part of the reason that I was here at home on a perfectly good Friday night.

The problem with this house is that it's too big. I can't even hear what's going on downstairs. They might be home already and I'm sitting up here in complete ignorance. I glanced at the clock again, biting my lip. I could go downstairs and check, but I wouldn't want to upset my father. He tends to get a tad touchy when I get involved with his business in any way, shape, or form.

Sighing, I tossed my math notebook down onto my bed and threw myself back against my absurd amount of pillows, stretching my body out in an attempt to get comfortable.

"Now that's a sight for sore eyes."

"Gah!" I jumped and practically fell off of my bed in the process, hand flying to my heart as my eyes snapped to the doorway. There he stood. One of the other few reasons for my existence. Tall, dark, and handsome, Edward Cullen was my own personal version of perfection.

"Edward!" I practically squealed, scrambling to get to him. I sprinted across the cold hardwood floor and jumped into his waiting arms. He held me tightly and sighed into my hair, sending shivers down my spine.

"I missed you," I murmured into his shoulder, clinging to him fiercely. I always worried about him when they went away.

"The feeling's mutual," he replied with a chuckle, pulling back as much as my death grip would allow and smirking at me. His emerald eyes burned into mine, reigniting the Edward-induced fire in my gut.

Unable to stand it any longer, I crashed my lips to his causing him to stumble backwards and, conveniently, shut the door behind him. He returned the kiss deeply and walked us towards my bed. The Trigonometry homework would have to wait until later.


	2. One

**Chapter One.**

**###**

Rolling over on my bed the next morning, I knew that I was alone. I didn't even have to check. Edward never spent the night when my father was home. Daddy dearest would not be too pleased to know that I was dating his right-hand man. If you could even call it dating. Edward and I were pretty much an enigma in the relationship world. He loves me and I love him, neither of us wants to be or would be with anyone else, but 'dating'? It just sounds too high school. Edward enjoys pointing out that I am, in fact, in high school so the term is not all that that strange. I still don't like it.

Edward and I have been doing whatever it is that we're doing for about two years – since I was sixteen, although we've known each other for longer. He's only four years my senior, so our situation is not nearly as messed up as it seems. Well, maybe that's not true.

Sighing, I heaved myself out of my all-too-comfortable bed and headed for the shower. The prospect of getting to see my father excited me, so I hurried through my morning routine.

After pulling on a pair of worn jeans and yanking a T-shirt over my head, I practically skipped down the hallway in my haste to get to the kitchen. I knew he'd be up – my father always got up early.

"Dad!" I screeched, rounding the corner and coming to a skidding halt in the kitchen doorway. He looked up from his paper and smiled, coming around the island to embrace me tightly.

"There's my girl," he replied, squeezing me.

"It's good to have you back. I hate when you have to leave."

"I know you do." He sighed and released me, stepping back and appraising me. I took the time to do the same. Charlie looked slightly haggard, but I'd seen him look worse. I guess it was to be expected. His work was stressful and he'd been away for over a week taking care of 'things'. My father was always vague when it came to the shady operations hidden behind his legitimate weapons business, Swan Corp.

I squirmed under Charlie's gaze. "I worry about you." I didn't mean for it to come out as a whisper.

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I know that this has never been easy, Bella, and you know that if I could –"

"No, no, no," I cut him off quickly, taking a step closer. "I didn't mean it like that. Just a simple statement of fact. I love you, Dad. I never say that enough."

He smiled and placed a kiss atop my head before returning to his seat. "So how was school this week?"

Oh how I loved the bits of normalcy peppered into our far-from-normal life. I smiled and grabbed a chocolate chip muffin before plopping down on the barstool next to him. Although our house was large, it was still cozy. The oak-accented kitchen was warm and inviting, unlike the gloomy Seattle weather outside.

"Relatively mundane," I replied with a sigh, popping a bit of the muffin into my mouth and watching rain spatter against the expansive kitchen windows. "I had a history test, but it was easy." Along with English, History had always been my best and favorite subject.

"That's my girl." He winked at me.

Footsteps in the foyer caused us both to look up. Edward walked into the kitchen a moment later and I had to hold back an ear-to-ear grin. He glanced at me surreptitiously as he entered. "Good morning, Charlie. Bella." He nodded towards me and I blushed, ducking my head so that my father wouldn't see.

"Ah, I see that you got my message, Edward," my father clapped him on the back.

"I came as soon as I did."

My father nodded and eyed me warily, mulling over something before standing up and tucking the newspaper under his arm. "Why don't we take this to my office." I sighed internally. My father never talked business in front of me. It's not as though I didn't know what he did.

"I'll meet you up there," Edward replied, walking over to a cabinet. "I'm just going to grab a cup of coffee."

My father nodded and placed a firm kiss to my forehead before exiting.

Edward and I both froze and listened to his receding footsteps, not moving until we could no longer hear them. He came back to life as soon as the sound faded and leaned back against the refrigerator, smirking at me. "Thanks for last night."

I frowned at his attempted sexual humor and slowly walked around the island, coming to a halt across from him and crossing my arms. I cocked an eyebrow questioningly. I could see his cool façade fading and a moment later he burst into laughter. Sighing, I looked away. "You think you're _so _hilarious."

"Your face, Bella," he said with a chuckle. Clearing his throat, Edward managed to wipe the smile off of his face and look serious. "I'm sorry."

"Mmhmm."

Taking one step forward, I reached up and ran my hands through his messy bronze hair that would never be tamed before locking them behind his neck. His arms came around my back and he leaned forward, but I rocked back before he could reach me.

"I'm not rewarding bad behavior," I told him, earning a smirk.

"My sincerest apologies, Miss Swan." Before I had a chance to respond, he quickly leaned down and kissed me. "_Now _it's a good morning," he said with a grin. He kissed me again quickly before sighing and letting me go to turn and grab a mug from the cabinet. I pouted, but backed up to lean against the island as I watched him pour the coffee.

"What does my dad need to talk to you about?" That earned me a knowing look. "Oh, come on Edward."

"There's a reason we're not discussing it in front of you." One thing that Edward had in common with Charlie was that he hated that I was involved in this business. I can't even count the number of times he has told me how dangerous it is. As if I didn't already know. I could usually get Edward to cave and tell me at some point, but sometimes it takes more persuasion.

"I just want to know what's going on. I hate how I'm always out of the loop," I replied, crossing my arms indignantly and trying _not _to resemble and petulant five-year-old. My foot remained cemented to the floor. _I will not stomp it._

Edward stared at me for a few moments before replying. "I'll tell you about it later, but I need to go before he gets suspicious." Yes. Victory.

"Tonight?" I was unable to keep the excitement and hope out of my voice. I don't know why I asked - Edward was with me whenever it was possible for him to be. Who knows what he would be doing tonight?

"Yes," he replied, although we both knew that promising such a thing was impossible. He did it simply to make me happy. It did.

I smiled widely as he pushed himself off the counter and kissed me deeply before following my father up the stairs.

I couldn't wipe that smile off of my face for the rest of the day.

**###**

I tuned Jessica out and focused on my doodles. She was prattling on about some football player but my attention span was failing me tonight. Drawing different letters of the alphabet in fancy script was much more fascinating.

"Bella?"

"Hmmm?"

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes." It sounded like a question.

Jessica sighed on the other end of the line. "Then what did I just say?"

Dang. She had me there. "I…have no idea."

"Typical," she muttered, blowing air into the phone – something I hated.

"I'm sorry, Jess, I'm just really tired, I guess." A lie, but I hoped it would appease her. Lies came naturally to me because I'd been living one my entire life. As far as Jessica, and everyone else for that matter, was concerned, my father was simply a successful businessman and the owner of Swan Corp., the most profitable weapons and machinery company in the world. Little did people know what really went on behind closed doors at that particular corporation.

"Long day?" Jessica's voice on the other line snapped me back to reality.

"Yeah." I sort of felt bad about lying to Jessica. She was my best friend, for all intents and purposes. It's difficult to stick someone with the label of 'best friend' when they really don't know you at all, but for the parts of my life that I didn't have to lie about – my high school life – Jessica Stanley was my best friend.

There was mumbling and shuffling on the other line and Jessica seemed to be preoccupied for a few moments before her voice returned. "I've got to go, Bella. Call me tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later." I hung up and placed the phone on my nightstand before looking around. The sun was almost done setting and long shadows were cast about my room. I hadn't turned the lights on yet and it was peaceful sitting there in the dim sunlight. The storm from this morning had passed, gracing my otherwise overcast world with the blessed reprieve of actual sunlight.

There was a soft knock on the door before Edward strolled in, shutting and locking it behind him.

"Hi there," I said softly as he made his way over to the bed.

"Hello." He flopped down next to me on his stomach and I smiled, lying down beside him and running my hands through his messy hair. Edward twirled a piece of my dark brown hair between his fingers. We sat staring at each other for a while. I was spellbound.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, catching me off guard.

I rolled my eyes, unable to take a compliment. "What did you do now?"

He chuckled and pulled me closer, nuzzling my neck. "Just making an observation." He planted light kisses along my shoulder, sending a shudder through my entire body.

"You're awfully affectionate tonight." I made a conscious effort to sound indifferent.

"Are you complaining?"

"Just making an observation," I replied, mocking him. He chose to ignore that and continued his ministrations. "I know what you're doing."

"And what's that?" He asked huskily.

"You're trying to distract me." He was doing a damn good job too, but I refused to be sidetracked. I had not forgotten our conversation in the kitchen earlier. I told him so.

Edward sighed and removed his lips from my neck, rolling onto his side to get a better look at me. "You know me too well."

I smiled up at him. "You don't play fairly." Suddenly something occurred to me. "Where's Charlie?"

"Not here," he quickly reassured me. Edward was always extremely cautious in sneaking around with me; I wasn't worried.

"Where is he?" I reached out to trace Edward's wrinkled brow.

"At a meeting."

I cupped his cheek and he leaned into the touch. "Why aren't you with him?" My father rarely did any business without Edward there by his side. He was essentially second in command, from what I could gather. Pretty impressive for his young age. Edward certainly earned his rank and the trust of my father, but it was more than just that.

Edward was Carlisle Cullen's son. _The _Carlisle Cullen – my father's best friend and partner in crime up until his untimely death three years ago. Carlisle had been killed at the expense of my father's business. A deal had gone wrong, shots were fired, and Carlisle was struck by a stray bullet.

Carlisle had been like a second father to me, just like my father was to Edward and his sister, Alice. I never really knew my mother – she died in a car accident when I was four. But Carlisle and his family filled that gap for me. It seemed contradictory, what with the completely illegal operations he and my father oversaw, but Carlisle was a wholeheartedly good person. Not that my father was bad, but where Carlisle was warm and inviting, Charlie had always been somewhat reserved and aloof.

We had been one, big, dysfunctional family. All that changed when Carlisle died though. I could never put my finger on exactly what had shifted, but it was something big. Ever since then, Edward had stepped up to fill his father's shoes. I missed Carlisle every single day. It was like I had lost my own father. I'd been greatly affected by his death, but I knew that whatever I was feeling, Edward was feeling it tenfold.

His voice interrupted my wandering thoughts: "It's nothing of great import. Just logistics."

"Are you going to give me any more information than that?" I prodded, always wanting more information.

"Why do I feel as though I have no choice?"

"Because you don't."

"You're impossible."

"That's why you love me."

Edward groaned and flopped onto his back. But he kept his hands on me, so I knew that I hadn't lost him. Now it was my turn to roll onto my side. "I'm worried, Edward. I'm always worried. It gives me peace of mind to know at least _something _about what's going on. You don't have to tell me everything. I just need to know the big things. Like last week I know you were all in Las Vegas at an underground weapons dealing. I know most of the people who were involved and it helped me get through the days without having a nervous breakdown. You know where _I_ go and what _I_ do every second of the day."

"You're not breaking the law," he pointed out seriously.

I shrugged, trying to keep the mood relatively light. "Much." That got me a smile. God, he was so beautiful. I leaned in and stole a kiss, unable to resist him. "Please?"

Edward stared at me for a while, waging an internal war with himself. I waited, knowing that I would get what I wanted in the end.

"Fine," he said at long last, a look of defeat crossing his features. "If you _must know_, we are dealing with a new client. A big client. Possibly our biggest client ever."

My eyes widened. "Who?" I'll admit, the business that my father was in was wrong, but I'll be damned if it's not fascinating.

"Some prince from Saudi Arabia." I knew that he was intentionally omitting names, but I'd take what I could get. "Anyways, he wants in on our dealings. Big time."

"What does he want?" My father dealt with so many types of products; the possibilities were endless.

Edward shrugged. "Who knows? Weapons, vehicles – whatever he wants but can't get through any other sources."

I mulled over this information while Edward stroked my side. A prince, eh? I wondered at all of the opportunities and connections this presented to my father.

"He's coming for a stint in the states at the end of the month, and he's going to be making a stop here in Seattle for awhile. He wants to inspect our operation and meet your father before getting too involved. We are making a few, smaller dealing with him prior to that, though."

By 'smaller' I knew that Edward meant only a couple hundred thousands of dollars as opposed to millions. Our house wasn't cheap – my father charged a large fee but did a flawless job.

"I see," I responded at length.

"Do you?"

I swatted at him playfully. "Thank you got telling me."

"Mmhmm."

I curled up beside Edward, wrapping my body around his and placing my head on his chest. "So what's the meeting for? The one my dad's at right now."

"He's speaking with some other agents about the prince's visit and about our current dealings with him. He's already made some…purchases."

"Of what?"

"Bella," he admonished.

"Sorry. You can't blame a girl for trying." Edward rarely ever talked about specifically _what _product they were dealing with at any given moment. "So when will Charlie be home?" Time to change the subject.

Edward shrugged. "Late, I suppose." I glanced at the clock – nine o'clock. That gave me plenty of time with him. I kissed my way up his neck and over his chin, quickly finding his lips.

"Can you be all mine until 'late'?" I asked in between kisses.

"I'm always all yours." His response made my heart flutter and I held him closer.

**###**

**A/N:** Questions? Opinions? Concerns?


	3. Two

**Chapter Two**

**###**

Monday morning rolled around all too quickly. I dragged myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of six thirty and showered quickly. It never took me long to get ready in the morning. Huxley Academy had a strict uniform, so that limited my outfit options. Cliché red, plaid skirt, white oxford, knee-highs, leather shoes, and a red sweater vest when I was in the mood.

Trudging down the stairs, I was unsurprised to find people already occupying the kitchen. My father sat at the large oak table, Jasper Hale and Emmet McCarty on either side of him. Edward sat at the island, slowly sipping coffee. It was typical for my father's associates to be around the house. Emmet was a large teddy bear of a man in his early thirties. Jasper was a few years younger – about Edward's age – and with a much lankier physique than Emmet. The biggest different between the two was that while Emmet donned a leather jacket, Jasper was dressed in a fancy looking suit. Some aspects of my father's business were meant to be seen and others were not, but they shared the same roof.

Charlie recruited Emmet to work for him right after he graduated college. A friend of a friend, Charlie knew how smart and talented Emmet was. He'd been working with my father for the past eight years. Jasper, on the other hand, was a childhood friend of the Cullens. Edward recruited him to work for Swan Corp as soon as he was eighteen and of legal age. The day after his eighteenth birthday, Edward told Jasper everything and, essentially, made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

"'Morning there, Alex," Emmet greeted me warmly. I smiled, making my way over to hug them all. Some girls were raised by a loving family. I was too, to a certain extent, my family just happened to be all male and deal with illegal weaponry.

"Good to see you, Emmet. Jasper." I hugged my father last, planting a kiss on his cheek before going to fill a mug with coffee. I sat down next to Edward, kicking him lightly in the shin. He didn't look up, but slid a croissant in front of me. Baked goods were the way to my heart.

"So Bella, Charlie was just telling us that you're looking at colleges." I choked on my coffee as my eyes snapped over to Emmet.

"Was he?" I rasped, still coughing. Edward patted me on the back lightly, but I could see him smiling out of my peripheral vision. He loved talking about college. Where I would go, what I would major in, what I would do with my life. I felt like I might vomit.

"Yup," Jasper agreed. "So are you just looking in Washington or thinking about branching out?"

I narrowed my eyes at my Charlie, who sat there sorting through paperwork nonchalantly. "I'm not sure yet," I replied, only to appease him. I wanted to stay in Seattle, but my father was desperate to get me out of it.

"Well where were you thinking about?" Emmet's curiosity this morning was just _endless_ it seemed. "You might have heard of my own Alma Mater – Notre Dame. It's a pretty good school, you know."

I wrinkled my nose. "Isn't that in Indiana?"

"What's wrong with Indiana?" Emmet seemed more amused than offended.

"I've never been to Indiana," I said lamely.

"There's a first time for everything, Bella." My eyes napped to Edward and narrowed. I would get him for that comment later.

"It's a little bit farther east than I was planning on looking," I explained slowly; pointedly.

"Well where _were _you planning on looking?" Charlie asked.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "It's too early for this conversation," I decided. "Talking about college stresses me out." I turned to Edward. "Will you drive me to school?" He nodded and I quickly said goodbye to everyone before grabbing my leather messenger bag off the counter and following Edward out the door. It was not atypical for me to get a ride from him. My father simply assumed that we were friends. Maybe it was due to our close proximity in age. My father thought that I was friends with Edward just the way that I was friends with Alice. The thought made me chuckle.

Edward held the door open for me and I brushed past him, stalking out towards the circular drive. Once there, I stopped. While there _were _multiple cars in the driveway, none of them were Edward's. Suddenly a sleek, silver Volvo beeped and Edward walked past me, opening the passenger door. Edward could have any car he wanted. Ferrari's, Aston Martins – anything. But he drove a Volvo. Jasper and Emmet mocked him for it mercilessly, but Edward always stuck to his guns. It was always a nice, shiny Volvo. Nothing like the station wagon I'd seen pictures of that my mom used to drive in the nineties. But still, it was a _Volvo_.

"You got a new car?" I asked, walking towards him.

He shrugged. "I got tired of the old one."

I scoffed. "That's a very loose interpretation of the word 'old', you know." I hardly counted six months as old.

"It was time for a change," he corrected, shutting my door and slowly walking around to the driver's side. I sized him up through the windshield. Even in simple dark blue jeans and a long-sleeved, white cotton T-shirt, he looked stunning. I liked it when Edward dressed down. It made him seem more human and less action-hero. Not that I minded the action-hero part.

As soon as he got in and started the car, I turned on him. "What was that all about?"

"What was what all about?" He seemed perplexed.

"There's a first time for everything, Bella." I tried and failed to mock his voice as I quoted his words.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Are we really going to argue about that?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand why you're mad," Edward said, keeping his eyes on the road as we sped down my driveway, only pausing to let the cast iron gate open.

"You know how I hate talking about college – especially around Charlie," I reminded him fiercely.

"Yes and I don't understand why."

"Edward."

"Bella." He was incorrigible. I told him so. "You're one to talk. You are the most stubborn person that I know. You need to grow a pair and talk to your father about your future."

My blood boiled as I glared at him. "My father wants me out of this state," I replied icily. "Is that what you want?"

"You know that's not what I meant." His face softened and he finally looked over at me.

"No? What _did_ you mean then?"

"I just want you to consider all of your options," he explained, trying to make me see reason.

"Which are?"

"Infinite. You have so much going for you, Bella. You're so smart. You need to take an active role into deciding your future." His voice was fierce and it was times like this that, no matter how mad or upset I was, I knew just how much Edward loved me.

"Can we not talk about this right now?" I whispered, turning my head to look at the road.

"Fine, but you can't evade forever."

"I know that, Edward. I'm not a child." I suddenly felt like one though. I was strapped into a Volvo for Christ's sake.

He muttered something that sounded like 'could have fooled me' but I decided to let it go. I really did not feel like arguing with him. Especially not about this. I sighed and leaned back in the smooth leather seat. "This is a nice car," I observed.

"Thank you."

"Is it fast?" I wondered aloud.

"Yes." He chuckled. _Success. _"It's very fast. And the safety ratings –"

I groaned, cutting Edward off. Aside from my college options, Volvo safety ratings were Edward's favorite subject. I needed to stop him before he started spouting off statistics. "That's good that it's fast," I decided.

"Oh?"

"In case you get into any high-speed chases."

"I see."

"I like knowing that you're prepared." Glancing at the speedometer, I saw that he was going twenty miles over the speed limit. Rolling my eyes, I held back any comments about it.

Before I knew it, Edward was pulling up in front of the stone monstrosity that was Huxley Academy. He put the car in park and turned in his seat to look at me. "Do you have everything?"

I nodded, suddenly feeling like a five-year-old on my first day of Kindergarten. "Will you pick me up?"

"If I can," he replied, rubbing a hand over his eyes. There were dark circles under them. I needed to start bugging him about getting more sleep. "Someone will be here though."

I nodded in understanding. Edward was always so busy. Looking up at him, I smiled shyly and unbuckled my seatbelt. "Thanks for the ride."

"Any time."

Glancing out the window at the students milling around, I sighed. I didn't want to get out of the car. I didn't want to face another mundane day of high school. But most of all, I didn't want to leave him. Turning back, I leaned my head against the headrest and stared at him.

"Don't give me that look, you need to go to school."

"We could play hooky," I suggested conspiratorially.

"And have your father personally remove one of my testicles? No thank you."

"Really? Just one?" I was stalling and he knew it.

Edward laughed and shook his head at my antics. "Goodbye, Bella." I pouted and he sighed before leaning across the console. I met his lips eagerly. It was a soft, slow kiss that had my head spinning. Suddenly I felt his hands on the buttons near the collar of my oxford. My heart sped up in excitement.

Much to my dismay, Edward pulled away, smiling. I stared at him, dumbfounded. Looking down, I saw that he had buttoned up my shirt one more hole. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"What?" He was grinning. All I could do was shake my head.

"You're ridiculous," I said, grabbing my messenger bag and opening the door. I bid him goodbye before stepping out of the car. Once on the sidewalk, I watched him pull away and stared after him until I could no longer see the car.

With a sigh, I turned to face Huxley and began my trek towards the front doors. Jessica bounded up to my side a moment later and linked her arm with mine. "Hey, Jess," I greeted her warmly.

"Well good morning, Miss Swan," she replied, eying me suspiciously.

"What?"

"Who was that?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Who dropped you off? I've never seen that car before."

"Oh." I waved dismissively. "That was just Edward. He got a new car."

"Again?" She looked incredulous.

"Yeah, he's insane," I agreed.

"I still don't understand you," Jess said as we made our way towards the main building. "You have an amazing car yet you have other people drive you to school." She was referring to the red BMW convertible that my father had just bought me for my eighteenth birthday.

I shrugged. "Sometimes I drive myself." That and a red BMW was not really my style, but Charlie looked so excited when he gave it to me. I wanted to tell him that I would have been fine with an old, beaten-up Chevy, but it was a moot point. Charlie spoiled me out of guilt.

"Rarely," Jess amended.

"Well I don't get to spend much time with Edward," I explained. "So when he drives me it's extra alone time." My relationship with Edward was one thing that I was unable to hide from Jessica. As far as she knew, it had to be kept under wraps simply because my father thought that Edward was too old for me. I trusted Jess with the secret.

She immediately nodded in understanding. "I can't blame you for that one." We giggled together on our way into the building.

Keeping with custom, Jess dragged me into the restroom for her last-minute hair check before we went to class. I stared at myself in the mirror as Jess touched up her make-up. Long, dark-chocolate hair fell in soft waves past my shoulders. I ran my hands through it, getting out non-existent tangles while Jess went on about how she was sure that Eric Yorkie, our quarterback, was going to ask her out sometime this week.

"Amber heard it from Oliver who heard it from Marigold who heard it from Tyler and Tyler is, like, best friends with Eric, so it just _has _to be true!"

I nodded without looking over at her, examining the brown that stared back at me in the mirror.

"Bella!"

"Huh?"

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"Yes. Amber heard it from…Oliver who heard it from…Mary? There was something about Tyler, I know that," I replied, turning to lean against the sink and get a better look as Jessica. She was fiddling with her sandy, stick-straight hair, bemoaning the fact that she could never 'do anything' with it.

"I tried to curl it this weekend," Jess explained as we made our way out of the bathroom and down the hall towards our lockers. "But it just won't hold any shape. It's driving me _crazy_. You're lucky you have hair that behaves." Her hazel eyes danced with her teasing.

I fingered a lock of it by my shoulder, staring down at the dark tendrils. "Eh, my hair's okay. Everyone has brown hair though – it's so boring. At least your hair is original."

"True," Jess allowed with a nod. We both giggled and walked into English together.

Mrs. Valentine was not there yet, so the classroom was buzzing loudly; everyone getting out their morning energy before being forced to focus. Jessica and I slid into our adjacent desks.

"Morning, Bella." I turned to face one of my other friends, Mike Newton. His blonde hair was sticking up every which way as he leaned forward eagerly. Big, blue eyes were wide and excited.

"Hey, Mike," I greeted.

"What's got you all keyed up?" Jessica asked, leaning back in her seat to observe him.

"Well," he said, dragging out the word. "I just wanted to cordially invite you both to the party that I'm throwing this weekend."

"What?" Jessica and I were both dumbfounded. My jaw dropped. Mike had never thrown a party before.

He sat back in his chair, looking pleased with himself. "Yeah, my parents are going out of town on Friday and won't be back until Sunday. So I thought 'what the hell?' Party at my house on Saturday!"

"This is so awesome, Mike!" Jessica squealed, bouncing in her seat.

"So can I count you both in?"

"Definitely!" Jessica exclaimed. I nodded. Mike beamed at us and winked at me before turning around to spread the word.

I was not usually one for parties, but Mike was my friend. I felt obligated to go.

"Oh my God this is so _perfect_!" Jessica clapped her hands together and continued to bounce. "Eric will come to the party, I'll look _hot_, and he'll fall madly in love with me." She sighed dreamily.

A moment later, Mrs. Valentine walked into the room, quieting everyone and making her way over to the chalkboard.

###

Mike and I ambled side-by-side down the hallway towards Math class. It didn't start for ten minutes, so we had ample amounts of time to dawdle.

"So," Mike began casually – too casually. I eyed him suspiciously. "I sent in my application to Georgetown this morning."

"Did you now?" I tried to sound indifferent.

"Yup. There's still a lot of time left, but I figured I'd get an early start."

"How diligent of you."

"I like to think so." There was a moment of tense silence as we came to a stop outside of the classroom before Mike sighed and turned to face me. "I think you should apply."

"Mike, really, I've had about as much college talk as I can handle for one day." I tried my best to look tired, but he either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Good, you need a lot of college talk. I'm glad that your father is putting pressure on you to get applications in."

I rubbed my temples, trying not to snap at him. I knew that he only had my best interests in mind, but this was just a touchy subject for me and no one seemed to respect that.

Suddenly he grabbed my hands, startling me. "Come on, Bella," he whispered, his eyes soft and heart-braking. "Go to Georgetown with me. We both need to get out of Washington. It'd be like an adventure."

I rolled my eyes and dropped his hands, crossing my arms over my chest defensively. "We live in Seattle, Mike, not some small, podunk town that you can't even find on a map. We don't need to 'get out' of Washington. Besides, there are plenty of good schools right here."

"Then why don't you apply to one?" He raised an eyebrow and I realized that I had walked right into that one.

"I will," I said at length, trying to get him off my back. "I just need more time to think about what I want."

"How much time, Bella? It's already October. Most schools have strict deadlines. Georgetown has –"

"Oh would you just shut up about Georgetown already!" The volume of my voice startled even me. Heads turned; people stared. Mike, however, was completely unfazed.

"I think it would be good to check out the east coast. And don't even act like you wouldn't be able to get in. We both know that's not true."

I softened, guilt creeping through me for yelling at him. "Look, I'll think about it, okay? I really do just need more time."

"Promise?" He held out his pinky.

I laughed at the juvenile gesture, but locked my pinky with his anyway. "Yes, I promise." Mike smiled widely before opening the door to the classroom and ushering me inside.

###

As soon as the final bell rang, I rushed outside, anxious to get to Edward. My heart plummeted when I saw the black Escalade that awaited me. Edward would not be picking me up from school today. I glumly marched towards it and plopped into the back seat.

"Hey there, Bella," James beamed from behind the wheel. James was my father's assistant.

"Hey, James." I forced a smile.

"How was school today?" He asked as we pulled away from Huxley.

I shrugged. "It was alright."

"Edward told me to tell you that he's sorry he couldn't be here himself, but something came up. He and your father will be gone for a few days. I'm actually headed to the airport myself to catch a later flight. Just as soon as I drop you at home, that is." James's blue eyes sparkled as he smiled at me in the rearview mirror. He probably meant for it to be a comforting gesture

But my blood ran cold. It was very rare for my father to leave without informing he first. I whipped my cell phone out – no missed calls or messages. My eyes snapped up to the rearview mirror, but James's focus was back on the road.

"Where did they go?"

Silence was my answer. I gathered that James would not be telling me that piece of information. _Dammit. _I'd be able to get it out of Edward. That gave me an idea. I hit the speed dial for his number, but it went straight to voicemail. The same with Charlie. I almost growled. They must be in the air.

"What time did their flight leave?" That was an innocent enough question.

"I'm not sure," James replied. "They took the jet, so there wasn't a specific departure time. They've probably gone already."

"Gone _where_?" I was begging now. "Please James."

I stared at the back of his red hair as he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Bella. You know I'd tell you if I could."

This time I did growl.

I jumped out of the car as soon as James came to a stop a few minutes later. "Have a safe flight," I grumbled before slamming the door. He pealed away and I ripped out my cell phone. So I couldn't talk to Edward, but I could still leave a very disgruntled voicemail. I had the same result as the last time I'd called – ten minutes ago. I waited patiently for the beep.

"Thank you _so _much for informing me that you would be leaving, Edward. Not just leaving, but _really _leaving. You're flying somewhere – you _know _James won't tell me where it is. I just…how could you? You _know _that I worry about everyone. A simple message would have been nice. Don't you care about my well-being enough to at least pick up a phone? Thanks a lot, asshole." I hit the 'end' button on my blackberry really, really hard as a means of getting out my anger. I almost threw the phone against the stone walkway in my rage, but thought better of it.

I left a similar message for Charlie – but more distraught than angry. And I left out the 'asshole' part. Somehow I didn't think that would go over well. With a sigh, I wiped away the angry tears and made my way into the house.

I stopped dead in my tracks upon entering the kitchen. A plate of fresh chocolate-chip cookies and a tall glass of milk were waiting for me on the island.

"Kate?" I called, knowing this was the work of our maid. She wasn't _really_ our maid though – she was practically my mother. She'd been with us since my real mother died when I was very young. The warm, grey-haired Irish woman was the closest thing I had to a mother. It was nice having some more estrogen in this house.

She appeared in the kitchen a moment later with open arms. I ran to her, letting some tears out. She knew how upset I got when my father left – especially when it was abrupt like this departure.

"I spoke to Charlie before they left," she said softly, the familiarity of her accent immediately bringing me comfort.

"Where did they go?" I asked, pulling away to look her in the sparkling grey eyes.

She shook her head sadly. "I don't know, sweetheart. But he said not to worry. They'll be back in a few days. I know it was sudden, but your father said that everything was fine."

"I _hate _it when he does this. They only just got back a few days ago!"

"I know, darlin'. I worry about them all as well, but I'm sure everything will be alright." She stroked my hair soothingly for a few moments before tucking it behind my ear and leading me over to the island. She practically shoved a cookie into my mouth and I munched on it while I thought.

"Did he say specifically when they would be back?"

"'A few days' is all he said to me. I asked Edward, too, but he wouldn't give." My eyes snapped to her at the mention of his name and some of my previous ire returned. Kate looked at me knowingly. While she never said anything about my relationship with Edward, I know that she knew. Women are much more perceptive than men about these sorts of things. "I'm sure that Mr. Cullen will be just fine as well."

I choked back a sob, grabbing another cookie to console myself. It's difficult to be livid with and worried sick about someone at the same time – quite taxing.

"I'd better go get some homework done; try and distract myself," I said after awhile, standing and grabbing another cookie.

"Alright, dear. I'll call you when supper's ready." I nodded at Kate before grabbing my bag and heading up the circular staircase.

I stopped midway up the stairs though as an idea struck me. Grinning, I dug my keys out of my backpack and dashed back down the steps. "Change of plans, Kate!" I shouted, tossing my backpack aside as I wrenched the front door open. "I'll be back in a few hours!"

**###**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Three

I fiddled with my car keys, trying my best not to trip over my feet as I skipped over to my red BMW. A moment later, I was inside and the motor was humming. I peeled out of the large, circular driveway, messing with the dashboard controls as I drove into the city. Edward would have a conniption if he saw me doing it. I could almost hear him saying 'eyes on the road, eyes on the road' and the thought made me smirk. I missed him.

Our house was in a gated community on the outskirts of Seattle. My destination, however, was in the heart of the city's downtown. I needed to talk to Alice.

Part of me hoped that she'd have some information on her brother, but I doubted that. Edward was mum about his activities on all fronts. Alice and Esme were left in the dark, just as I was. Really, I just wanted to see Alice. She was my best friend. There were no false pretenses and dances around the truth with her. She knew everything and it was refreshing.

Carlisle had tried very hard to keep his work life separate from his family life, but black market dealings have a way of following you home. From an early age, Alice and Edward knew what their father did. And, surprisingly, they were okay with it. I think that they adored him so much that it didn't really matter _what _he did. He was still Carlisle. He was still their father.

Two years my senior, Alice was already in college. She was my best friend, but I'd be the first one to admit that Alice was kind of a hot mess. She was majoring in Outdoor Education and managed a rock climbing center downtown. Alice was absolutely the messiest person I knew and had never kept a planner or datebook in her life. Although it was aggravating at times, I loved Alice for how she lived her life: full-steam ahead.

After sitting in a mild amount of traffic, I was finally pulling into the parking garage attached to her apartment building. I shuffled out of the car and across the parking lot, anxious to get to Alice. I probably should have called or something, but if she wasn't there, I'd just wait.

After taking the elevator up to the top floor, I knocked rapidly on Alice's door a few times and cheered inwardly when I heard movement on the other side. It flew open a second later and Alice stood there beaming.

Alice was five feet and one inch of pure awesome. She was stylish and sassy and I loved her for it. Bouncing, she pulled me into the apartment and threw her arms around me as the front door swung shut behind her.

"Are you wearing crocs with socks?" I asked speculatively after she released me.

Alice shrugged. "It's my secret shame. I'd never wear them out of the apartment, so don't worry." Alice looked extremely comfortable in her UW Seattle sweats, crocs and socks aside. She was stylish when she put effort into it, but in between her busy class schedule and rock climbing constantly, she was more comfortable in simple clothing. Both styles seemed to suit her though. Alice cleaned up good.

"I had a feeling you would be coming to see me today," she announced excitedly.

"And why is that?" I asked, following her into the cluttered kitchen. Esme had tried to help Alice decorate the apartment, but Alice lost interest rather quickly, leaving the apartment in a half-decorated, half-chaos kind of limbo. It seemed to suit Alice pretty well though.

"Well Edward left, for one –"

"Did he say anything to you? Do you know where he is?"

Alice frowned. "Bella, when has Edward ever told me anything aside from the bare minimum? I was actually going to ask _you_ those questions, but I guess we're both in the dark, huh?"

I sighed and my shoulders slumped in defeat. "I hate your brother."

Alice snorted as she pulled two ceramic mugs out of her cabinet, standing on tiptoes to reach them. "Sure you do. By the way, how did the sex embargo work out on Friday?"

My cheeks immediately reddened as Thursday's conversation with Alice flooded into my mind.

_"This is the final straw Alice – really. No, stop laughing, I'm serious. If he thinks he can just keep running all around the world and not telling me anything, he's wrong. And if he thinks I'm just going to sit around mooning over him while he's gone, then he has another thing coming. In fact, you know what? I'm throwing in a game-changer. Something that is a 100% sure-fire way to give me the upper hand. No sex. Edward Cullen is not getting _anything _from me until I get answers. No more waltzing into my room after days without any word and thinking I'm just going to throw myself at him. Nuh-uh. This is it. A sex embargo. And it starts right now."_

I fidgeted in Alice's barstool as she laughed at me. "You threw yourself at him, didn't you?"

I groaned. "Literally."

Alice sighed wistfully. "Ah, young love."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, Alice. It's anything _but _a fairytale."

"Tell me about it," she agreed, pouring steaming water into the mugs and allowing tea bags to steep. I smiled at her sympathetically.

Alice and Jasper were in love. They had grown up together and been dating for two years until Jasper's eighteenth birthday when Alice's perfect little world came crashing down. The day that Jasper started working for my father was the day that he broke up with Alice.

She was crushed. They were supposed to get married. Jasper hadn't officially proposed yet, but everyone knew it.

But when Jasper found out about Swan Corp. and agreed with join Edward and Carlisle to work for my father, he knew that he was entering into a dangerous way of life. And he refused to drag Alice down with him. She was crushed. I'd been at her house when he did it. I saw her right after he walked away and it was one of the most harrowing memories I possessed. She cried for days and missed a week of school.

Jasper didn't really have a choice about joining Swan Corp. Not that my father had physically forced him or anything – it wasn't like that at all. Jasper simply needed the money. After ten years of fraudulent tax returns, Jasper's father was behind bars and had left the rest of the Whitlock family with _his _insurmountable debt. Jasper took it upon himself to deal with the complications and Swan Corp. was the means to an end for him. Edward had offered the job to Jasper, knowing that he couldn't refuse it.

Edward was Alice's brother. He couldn't sever all ties with her like Jasper had. It's not that Edward didn't take his job seriously. Of course he did. But he couldn't just end his relationships the way that Jasper had. His mother and sister were the only real family he had left and unlike Jasper, Edward was essentially born into this way of life.

I shivered, imagining what it would be like if Edward did to me what Jasper had done to Alice. It was a terrifying reality and one that I knew Edward had considered. I was stuck in this way of life, though. I was Charlie Swan's daughter, after all. Edward or no Edward, I was still in danger. I think that Edward thought he was selfish – a monster of some sort. But I needed him. I couldn't _let _Edward walk away from me, and thankfully he never tried.

Alice wasn't so lucky though. It was a moral dilemma that plagued many of my father's agents. No one blamed Jasper. Even Alice couldn't bring herself to hate him. The worst part was, he was still around. Jasper was a part of Alice's life, but she couldn't have him. He was still Edward's best friend. I know that they still loved each other and that made everything all the more tragic.

I grabbed Alice's hand and squeezed it. She squeezed back and offered me a halfhearted smile before looking down at her mug.

"I'm okay," Alice whispered. But she wasn't. The sparkle drained from her eyes whenever Jasper was mentioned. Her eyes were trained on him whenever he was in the same room. And just as I was worried about Edward right now, I knew that Alice was worried about Jasper, even though she would never say it.

"They're going to be fine," I stated firmly. "They always are."

"Funny," Alice said lightly. "Aren't _you _the one that was coming to _me _for reassurance?"

I smirked. "Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I just wanted to see you?"

"Nope," she replied quickly. We walked into her living room together, plopping down on the couch with our mugs in hand.

"How are your classes going? How's the Center?"

"Fine, fine," she said quickly. "They're always fine. The Center's good though. I've been given a lot more responsibility ever since they made me manager, so it's a little rough sometimes. But I love it."

"And how's Esme? When does she get back from Paris?"

"She'll get back from Paris when she gets back from Paris," Alice replied with a shrug. "You know my mom. Her schedules are never concrete."

Esme designed luxury hotels and often traveled to different cities and countries for stints on construction sites. She was her own woman, and I respected and loved her for that. Esme Cullen was one of the strongest and most amazing people that I knew. When Carlisle died, she didn't break like everyone expected her to. Carlisle was her high school sweetheart and the love of her life. Esme was hurting, but she handled everything remarkably well. She had a tendency to throw herself into her work though. Like now, for example. She had been in France for almost two weeks working on her venture.

That was a tendency that Esme had passed on to her daughter. Alice was a hard worker. Ever since Jasper left her four years ago, she threw herself into pursuing her goals. Her life _was _climbing mountains now. That's not to say that Alice's passion stemmed from the wrong fire, because it certainly didn't. She was an adventurist through and through. Pictures of Mount Everest and K2 littered her apartment. I knew, without a doubt, that Alice would scale their peaks someday. I think she knew it too.

"You should come down to the center sometime this week," she said excitedly. "We just installed a brand new rock wall that the owners let me design and, not to brag or anything, but it's pretty baller."

"Baller?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows in amusement.

"I'm hip with the lingo, Bella," she deadpanned.

I snorted into my tea. "Whatever you say, homes."

"Anything new at school?" Alice asked. She was always amused with my day-to-day life at Huxley. She mocked anything Jessica said and she thought that Mike was a waste of space. I think she was just jealous that they were my 'school' best friends. Alice knew she was like a sister to me.

I shrugged. "Same old, same old. Jessica's obsessed with a new football player this week. Oh, and Mike's having a party this weekend."

That last part certainly caught Alice's attention. She sat up straight in her armchair and her eyes danced. "A party?"

"A _high school _party, Alice."

"Take a chill pill, Bella, I'm not saying I want to _go_. I'm not going to be that creepy guy who can't move on in life and frequents high school parties to relive his glory days. Jeez, show some respect. I'm just thinking about what I'm going to dress you in," she assured me with a wicked grin.

"Ha! No, that's not happening."

"Yes it is," she said confidently. "You'll see."

"How are you so sure that I'm even going?"

Alice didn't respond, she simply tapped her temple and smirked. I rolled my eyes. Alice always said that she had psychic powers, but I think she's just full of crap. Edward says that she just realizes the inevitable before others do and points it out. He's probably onto something there, but I think Alice just enjoys thinking that she knows better than everyone else.

"Whatever you say, Nostradamus," I replied, letting her think what she wanted.

**###**

I was still groggy when I woke up the next morning, but a waiting text message from Edward immediately made me jumpy. It was short and simple: _We're in D.C. Back soon. Don't worry._

Seven words? All I got was _seven _words? Frustrated, I tossed the phone down, not even bothering to respond. What could I even say to that?

After a quick shower, I threw on my uniform and trudged down the steps, praying that Kate had made coffee. The refrigerator door was open when I walked into the kitchen, but unless Kate's feet had grown about six inches and she'd become accustomed to wearing Vans overnight, I knew that she couldn't be the one standing behind it.

"Um, hello?"

The fridge swung shut a moment later and I was met with a grinning Emmett. He held two bagels in one hand and a carton of orange juice in the other. "Hells Bells! G'morning!"

I gaped at him for a moment. What the hell was he doing in my kitchen? It's not that is was uncommon for my father's agents to be around – they were always around. But usually, my father was around with them. I'd assumed that Emmett was in Washington D.C.

"Uh, good morning?" I sputtered out. "Emmett, what are you doing here?"

"Eating breakfast," he replied, as though it were obvious.

I shook my head to clear it. "No, I mean, why aren't you in Washington D.C.?"

"And why would I be there?" He asked through a mouth full of bagel.

"Edward told me that's where you guys were."

Emmett scoffed. "Well yeah that's where _they _are. But they're on legitimate business – the boring stuff. That's not my style, little B. I'm strictly a special ops, black market kind of guy. I don't do legitimate and I sure as _hell _don't do Washington D.C." He proceeded to chug orange juice straight from the carton and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Do you think they'll be back today?"

Emmett shrugged. "Maybe. I don't really keep track of that shit. When your dad's back, he'll call me. Then, I'll know he's back."

"That's a tricky system you've got there," I joked, making my way over to the coffee pot.

"Yeah, it's tough to pick up at first. So what are your plans for the day?"

"Well I've got school."

"Ugh", Emmett shivered. "I'm sorry to hear that, Bells. And my sincerest condolences."

"It's school, not a funeral," I reminded him.

"Debatable. You need a ride?"

"Are you offering?"

"Well," he considered, "As long as you don't make me go inside the actual building, I think I can bare it. Besides, don't you need a chauffeur since your burning hunk of man meat is out of town?"

I flushed and looked down at the ground. Emmett loved mentioning Edward in ways that would make me uncomfortable and this was no exception. Thankfully, he never did it when Charlie was around. But he was one of Edward's best friends and he never missed a chance to make me squirm. I trusted him to keep my secret, but I did _not _trust him to be civil about it. Then again, he wouldn't be Emmett if he were.

"Edward's not exactly my chauffeur," I replied.

"You mean he doesn't 'drive your car'?" Emmett asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"Ew, Emmett, get your mind out of the gutter," I said, swatting his shoulder.

"Please, Bells, my mind is buying time shares in the gutter."

I laughed and began gathering up my books. "I can't argue with that. Now let's go, you're making me late for school."

Emmett dropped me off at Huxley Academy with a promise that he'd be there to pick me up at the end of the day. I was surprised then, when at 3:30, as I was descending the stone steps in front of Huxley, I saw Charlie's black Range Rover waiting for me. Suspicious, I made my way over to the shining hunk of metal and opened the door.

"Hop in, Bells, we're going to the range!" Emmett boomed from the driver's seat. I jumped in surprise and almost dropped my books onto the sidewalk.

"Hello, Bella," my father said from his spot in the passenger seat. "I'm sorry about jetting off to D.C. so suddenly."

"It's…okay," I replied slowly, looking between the two of them in confusion. After standing at the door for a moment longer, I hoisted myself into the black leather seat and slammed it behind me. "Where are we going?" Emmett pealed away from the curb as soon as my seatbelt was buckled.

"The range!" He shouted excitedly.

"The shooting range?"

"No, Bella, the chicken range. We're picking us some eggs," Emmett replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. I glared at him in the rearview mirror and his eyes met mine with a smile.

"What are we doing at the range?"

"Taking interpretive dance lessons," Emmett supplied quickly. My father whacked him in the shoulder and he barked out a laugh. "We're going _shooting_, Bella. What else would we do?"

"Well I don't know! Why are you taking me there?"

"Because, Bella," Charlie began, shifting in his seat. "It's time you learn how to shoot a gun."

My heart began to beat faster. Was there a specific reason that I needed to learn how? I guess it made sense. Charlie Swan was the leading weapons manufacturer in the world, yet his own daughter had never shot a gun. It was almost embarrassing. Still, I had to ask: "Why?"

Charlie shrugged. "It's a good skill to possess. I want you to be able to protect yourself, should you need to."

"We're gonna see what ya got!" Emmett boomed, chuckling to himself.

I was willing to guess that I probably didn't have a whole hell of a lot and would end up embarrassing myself all afternoon. I looked down and suddenly realized that I was still in my uniform.

"In my school clothes?" I groaned.

"Kate packed you some extra clothes," Charlie answered, pointing to the small bag behind Emmett's seat. I picked it up and examined the contents. Jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers. I was thankful that it was Kate who had packed this bag and not Alice. That little gremlin would have had me shooting in stilettos and a cocktail dress if she could.

Twenty minutes later, we were pulling up to the large Swan Corps Headquarters in the heart of Seattle. Emmett drove down into an underground parking garage and he and Charlie flanked me as we walked into the building.

We took an elevator down to the lower floors of the skyscraper. Charlie stopped and talked with practically every man in a suit that we passed. It was almost annoying.

When we finally did reach the shooting range down on the lowest floor of the building, I was ready to fire at something. After a quick trip to the bathroom to change, I was walking back towards my father and Emmett when I saw him.

Edward's back was to me and he was dressed in dark jeans and a green cotton T-shirt. His copper hair shone even in the fluorescent lighting. I could see his back muscles moving through the thin fabric of his shirt as he motioned with his hands, explaining something to my father.

Tugging at the hem of my shirt, I made my way over to them and came up behind Edward. "I'm ready," I said, a little too loudly.

Edward spun around and stared at me with wide eyes, his mouth dropping open in surprise as he stared at me.

"What are you –?" He cut himself short and turned to look at Charlie. "What is she doing here?"

Charlie crossed his arms and stared at me over Edward's shoulder. "Bella needs to learn how to protect herself," he stated firmly.

"No she doesn't," Edward replied firmly. "Charlie, this is ridiculous. She'll hurt herself."

I scoffed. _Hurt myself_? Other than getting shot, which I sincerely doubted I would do to _myself_, I had a really hard time seeing how shooting a gun was detrimental to my health. I said so.

"She's right, Eddie," Emmett piped up, walking past Edward and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "We'll look out for her – she'll be fine. Besides, I wanna see what the kid's got." He grinned and shook me a little bit, showing his exuberance. My jaw clattered slightly with his jostling, but I fixed my gaze on Edward. He was not happy, but he didn't really have a say in this.

Emmett led me away a moment later. There were eight separate shooting lanes that took up a majority of the large room. The far back wall was a good distance away and I squinted to see the targets at the other end. Emmett led me over to a table at one of the lanes.

"Alright, Bellsy, I've got some gear here for you. First, your basics. Protective glasses and earmuffs." Emmett held up the large, clear glasses and the protective, blue plastic ear covers. I wouldn't exactly call them 'muffs', but Emmett was the expert, not me.

Emmett went on to describe the make and model of the pistol I'd be shooting, but I tuned him out for the most part and kept glancing at Edward. He stood a few feet away, watching me and looking extremely unhappy. He was being unreasonable. I could shoot a gun if I wanted to.

Emmett put the goggles over my eyes and placed the ear covers around my neck before stepping aside and giving me pointers about how to stand. He wasn't really making much sense though – just spewing out random bits of advice here and there. I found it hard to figure out what to do and found myself repositioning every time he told me something else. I huffed and gave Emmett an annoyed look.

"What?"

"Emmett, you're not making any sense. Can you just show me?"

"It's easy, Bells."

"For you maybe! But –"

"Let me," a silky voice sounded from behind us.

Emmett held up his hands and stepped back. "Have at it, cowboy. You're a better shot than me anyway. You can deal with Miss Prissy Pants over here." Emmett sauntered away, but not before whispering to Edward to "keep his gun in his holster".

Once Emmett had left us alone, I turned and saw that Jasper had joined us down here, along with a few other men in suits. I waved to him and he smiled back before returning to the intense conversation that he was having with my father and a few other suited men.

Deciding to ignore Charlie for now, just as he was ignoring me, I turned back to Edward.

"Hi," I whispered, taking off my goggles to get a better look at him. Well that, and they made my nose itch.

"Hello, Bella," he replied, suppressing a grin.

"I missed you," I told him earnestly.

"I was only gone for two days," he replied with a chuckle, picking my pistol up off of the table to examine it.

"I know. But I still missed you. How was D.C.?"

Edward shrugged. "I didn't see much of it. We were stuck in meetings the whole time with the Secretary of Defense."

My eyes bugged. "You met Robert Gates?"

"It was no big deal. We've dealt with him before," Edward explained, placing the pistol back on the table.

"What were your meetings about?"

Edward smirked. "I thought you were here to learn how to shoot a gun."

"I was kidnapped after school and dragged here."

With a shrug, Edward simply said, "Daddy's orders."

"What's with the change of heart? Ten minutes ago, you were livid."

"Well I thought about it," he replied. "And maybe it's…not so bad that you learn how to defend yourself. You can never be too careful."

"You don't think I'll _hurt myself_?" I asked, mocking him.

Edward scoffed. "Bella, you always manage to find a way to hurt yourself." He was referring to my innate clumsiness. I could trip over air and slip on a dry floor. If falling over were an Olympic sport, I'd be the reigning champion.

"You shouldn't fault a person for something they can't change," I said lightly, not really trying to defend myself because he was right.

"Hey you two!" Emmett called. "Quit schmoozing and start shooting!"

Edward and I grinned at each other for a moment before he replaced my goggles and stepped back.

"Alright, spread your legs," Edward said. I looked up at him with wide eyes, knowing what he really meant but choosing to be immature instead.

"Sex at the shooting range, Edward, really? You can't wait until we get home?"

"Bella," he admonished. "You know that's not what I meant. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart."

"You're no fun," I pouted, but did as he instructed.

Edward continued to explain the finer points of proper shooting form and I found him much easier to understand that Emmett. Edward didn't speak _at _me. He showed me. Sometimes he physically moved my body into the correct position, explaining about strong stances, high hand grasps, and hard grips.

After a quick, but informative tutorial. I had my pistol ready and Edward had given me the go-ahead to fire. I was nervous now, because Emmett, Charlie, Jasper, and others had crowded around to watch.

"Relax, Bella. Don't forget to breathe", Edward whispered before putting my ear covers on and effectively silencing the rest of the world. I did as he instructed and took a deep breath before raising my hands and aiming.

The first shot startled me – I wasn't expecting the amount of kickback that the small handgun gave me. After I got used to it though, it wasn't so bad. I even began to like it. I felt powerful. Edward refilled my gun with bullets four times before my arms began to tire and I set the gun back down, putting the safety in place and pulling off all of my protective headgear.

"Hells Bells!" Emmett whooped, grabbing me by the waist and twirling me around. "Watch out, boys, there's a new sheriff in town!" I giggled and couldn't hold back my smile. I had, by some miracle, managed not to completely embarrass myself and landed most of my shots on the target. Even Edward seemed pleased.

"Thanks, Emmett," I said abashedly.

"Not half bad, Bells." Charlie clapped me on the back.

We all messed around for about another hour, taking turns shooting. I was enthralled as I watched Edward shoot skillfully. I'd never seem him fire a gun before. It was like second nature to him. He was calm and quiet as he aimed and fired rapidly at the target, hitting the bull's eye almost every time. Emmett informed me that he was the best shot out of all of them. They didn't even bother betting with him anymore.

The afternoon wound down and eventually gave way to evening. My stomach was growling by seven o'clock as the boys began packing everything up.

"Bells," Charlie said, coming over to me. "I need to stay here at the office for a little while and finish up some paperwork. Emmett or Edward can drive you home. Is that alright?"

I nodded fiercely, more than happy to hitch a ride with Edward. I glanced over at him surreptitiously, but he was focusing on taking apart a gun. I made my way over to him after saying goodbye to Charlie. His hands were covered in black grease as he fiddled with the small metal parts.

"Hey," I said with a smile, sidling up beside him.

He glanced around quickly, relaxing slightly when he realized that Charlie had left. Jasper and Emmett were the only other people down here and they were too busy bickering over something to notice us. Not that it mattered.

He smiled at me and bumped his shoulder against mine. "Hey yourself."

"Will you drive me home?"

"Maybe."

"Edward."

He chuckled. "Yes, Bella, I'll drive you home."

I hooked my fingers through the belt loops on his jeans and moved closer to him, nudging him so that his arm came around me.

"My hands are dirty," he warned.

"I don't care."

He pulled me close and I looked up into his deep green eyes before pressing my face into his chest and inhaling deeply. He smelled wonderful. Slightly musky from being down here all afternoon, but he still smelled of pine and rain – my Edward through and through.

"I uh, got your voicemail," Edward said lightly, running his fingers up and down my back. I froze at his words – I'd completely forgotten about leaving it. Edward stopped his ministrations when I pulled away from him.

"Yeah well, I was pretty mad at you," I replied lamely.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, that came across rather clearly, Bella. Listen, you know that I always tell you as much as I can, but sometimes I'm not able to get in contact with you. This trip was so sudden – I barely had time to get to the airport before Charlie's jet took off."

I crossed my arms defensively. We always came to this same impasse when we talked about this and it _always _turned into an argument. I didn't feel like arguing with Edward right now though.

"Can we not talk about this?"

He looked surprised. "Really? You're letting me off the hook? You usually love arguing with me."

"Not tonight, Edward."

"Oh? And why is that?" He seemed genuinely perplexed at my decision.

"Why are you looking a gift horse in the mouth? I'm letting it slide – just accept that and move on. I don't feel like arguing with you tonight," I explained.

"Who are you and what have you done with Bella Swan?"

I bit back a grin and smacked him in the chest. "I'm serious. Just let it go."

He eyed me speculatively for a moment longer. "Okay, I will. For now."

"Thank you." I leaned up and pecked his lips twice before taking his hands. "Can you take me home now?"'

Twenty minutes later, Edward was speeding out of the city as I fiddled with his dashboard controls. He kept trying to push my hands away and complained that 'distracting the driver is dangerous' but I ignored him and continued to flip through the channels on his satellite radio and adjust the temperature as erratically as I pleased.

"For the love of God, Bella, just pick a station and leave it. You're giving me a headache."

"I can't find anything good."

"A thousand channels and yet you still can't find anything that you like. Typical," he groaned as we flew down the highway. It was dark out and the red headlights before us reflected lightly on his alabaster skin, giving his face an incandescent glow.

I leaned back, giving up on the radio in favor of staring at Edward. "Are you saying that I'm too picky?" I asked, simply trying to goad him.

"You're twisting my words," he observed with a grin.

"It's one of my favorite activities."

He laughed out loud and shook his head. "I'd noticed." He looked so beautiful and carefree in the moment that my stomach filled with butterflies as I stared at him.

"Hey Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

He smiled and glanced over at me, but kept his head facing towards the road.

"Hey Bella?"

"Yes?" I asked, playing along with him.

"You're alright."

My eyes widened at him and I giggled, reaching out to smack his shoulder. But Edward was faster than me and grabbed my hand out of the air, bringing it to his lips and kissing it firmly.

I melted right there in the passenger seat of his Volvo. I hated the fact that he was driving right now – I wanted to jump his bones. Luckily, we weren't on the highway anymore. We were on the back, winding roads through the forests that surrounded my home. We'd be there soon, but I didn't want to wait. And I was feeling devious.

"Pull over," I instructed.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Edward looked quizzical, but he did as I asked. When the car was on the side of the road and in park, he turned towards me, probably to ask what the hell was wrong with me, but I didn't give him the chance. I grabbed his face and crashed my lips to his. He was obviously startled at first and taken aback by my forwardness, but it didn't take long for his arms to wrap around me.

When his velvet tongue touched mine, I thought I'd die. I squirmed to get as close as possible, but we were still separated by the console. I wrapped my arms around his neck and for a moment, feared that I might be choking him. Edward wasn't complaining though.

He did begin to slow our kisses down though, much to my chagrin. Finally, he pulled back, a smirk plastered on his face.

"What was that for?"

I shrugged, trying to play it cool. "I didn't want to wait to kiss you anymore."

He leaned in to kiss me again, this time sweet and slow. It made my toes curl. "I love you, Bella Swan." His tone was light and lilting. "Now let's get you home."

"You know," I said, eyeing him slyly as he pulled back on to the dark, deserted road. "My dad won't be home for a few more hours." He glanced at me, clearly understanding the look on my face.

"Oh, believe me Bella," he replied, "I know."

**###**

**Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!**


	5. Four

**A/N: PLEASE READ: **Hello! Just a quick note: I admittedly took some liberties with the location of First Beach and the reservation. All I can say is, my house, my rules. Hah. Also, this chapter was really fun for me. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! And Happy 4th of July!

**###**

"Oof!" The wind was knocked out of me as I fell to the ground, trying to catch my breath. I quickly learned that the padded floor wasn't really padded at all. I could feel the concrete underneath the thin layer of blue padding as my shoulder blades dug into it.

"Are you alright?" Alice screeched, darting over and kneeling down beside me. "Don't move!"

"I'm fine," I rasped, wiggling to my fingers and my toes to make sure I wasn't paralyzed. I ignored her request and sat up slowly, my head spinning.

Alice sighed. "I said 'belay down', Bella, not 'fall down'."

I narrowed my eyes at her as the harrowing scenes of the last thirty seconds played out in my head. Alice shouting the word 'belay' over and over, me pushing off the rock wall only to slam right back into it and then fall ten feet before crashing into the ground. Don't get me wrong, I know that Alice is a very experienced and talented rock climber. But I also know that she weighs about one hundred pounds soaking wet and trusting her to be attached to the other end of that rope was probably a bad idea.

"I thought I was belaying!" I said with a groan. The muscles in my body were beginning to ache already.

Alice giggled and shook her head. "You looked like an orangutan when your arms flew up like that."

"Thanks for the confidence boost, Alice," I replied dryly. She helped me to my feet, but didn't stop laughing.

"Relax, Bella. You fell ten feet, not one hundred. I've had much worse."

"Well it still hurt," I said defensively. She began helping me out of the harness, which I was ecstatic to be rid of. The other climbers on the floor had finally stopped staring and mocking me, so that was a nice change of pace.

It was Wednesday. Alice had picked me up after school and driven me to the climbing center that she managed, assuring me that we were going to have an 'awesome' afternoon. I don't know about her, but having a perma-wedgie from a harness wasn't 'awesome', having people stare at me because I sucked at rock climbing wasn't 'awesome', and falling to my almost-death _certainly _wasn't 'awesome'.

"Why don't you take some Tylenol," Alice offered as she followed me into her office and shut the door. "You're going to need it."

I downed three pills and an entire bottle of water as I sat in the worn, brown leather couch across the room from her desk. Alice's office was a mess, not unlike her apartment. Papers, folders, and books were scattered all over. Filing cabinets hung half-open with the occasional manila folder sticking out. There were multiple mugs and cups scattered around the room on every surface that wasn't already occupied by some other piece of chaos. And finally, Alice's trusty Magic 8 ball sat on her desk, next to her laptop, right where it always was. That seemed to be the only thing she could ever keep track of.

Alice sat down on the rolling chair in front of her desk and began sifting through various paperwork.

"Are you ever going to clean this place up?" I asked in amusement.

Without even taking a second to look at me, Alice simply picked up her Magic 8 ball and shook it. "My sources say no." With that, she put it back down and picked up a folder.

I shook my head and smirked. Some things never change. I couldn't believe that Alice's boss hadn't had a conniption by now and ordered her to clean up the mess. Whenever I asked her about it, she just shrugged and said that she knew where everything was, so it wasn't a problem. They must be pretty laid-back people.

The center where Alice worked was large and vast. The rock walls took up a majority of the space, but there was also fitness equipment and a pool, not to mention the endless running trails that wove through the surrounding forest. Alice had it good over here. I knew it was easy for her to get lost in the hustle and bustle of it all. I wasn't going to let her do that now, though.

"Alice," I barked, causing her to jump and drop her pen. A few strands of black hair fell into her face, but she brushed them away.

"Yes, Bella?"

"Talk to me. How are you?"

Alice folded her arms and sat back in her chair, causing the backrest to squeak. "I'm fine," she replied with a shrug. I knew Alice wasn't 'fine' though. She'd been more distracted than ever lately. Working late hours, sleeping less, and literally throwing herself into her job and schoolwork. I knew that she lived a stressful life, but this was just getting a bit ridiculous.

"Alice," I said firmly. "It's me. Bella. Now tell me the truth. _How are you?"_

"Bella," she replied, looking he straight in the eyes. "I. Am. Fine." She laughed lightly and shook her head. "Seriously. I've just been busy – that's it."

I narrowed my eyes in slight curiosity. I worried about Alice. After everything with Jasper happened, she taken a long time to heal. It might have been four years ago, but I knew her wounds were still fresh. She also had Edward to worry about, and her mom was all over the place. On top of all of that, she had work and school to deal with. I knew it could be overwhelming for her and she typically vented and ranted to me every once in awhile. We hadn't had a really good, therapeutic rant session in awhile though, and it was long overdue.

Those sessions were good for us. I'd let loose about Charlie and Edward and my future and she'd just spew about every little thing in her life that was bothering her. We _needed _these sessions. Usually they happened in a café over coffee and baked goods, but I'd settle for Alice's stuffy office instead.

I decided to try another line of attack.

"Have you seen Jasper lately?" It was a low-blow and I knew it. Her entire body tensed at the sound of his name.

"No," she replied tersely. "Why?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Charlie took me to the shooting range yesterday and he was there."

"You shot a gun yesterday?"

"Multiple times."

"Does Edward know?"

"He was there the whole time."

Alice giggled. "He was probably freaking out."

I grinned. "Well he wasn't a happy camper, but he seemed to be okay."

"Edward can be good at covering his internal freakouts, though. You know that."

"This is true…" I began to consider this before another thought occurred to me. "Hey! Stop trying to change the subject. We're talking about _you_!"

"There's nothing to talk about, Bella! I'm fine! I'm just busy. You need to chill out."

"What's your assistant manager's name again?" The question seemed to confuse Alice.

"Uh, Garrett?" She looked quizzical and stumbled over her answer.

"He's pretty cute," I observed innocently.

"Okay?"

"You should ask him out."

Alice practically spewed yellow Gatorade all over her desk as she broke into a coughing fit at my suggestion.

"What?" She choked out. "Where the hell did that come from?"

This was another thing about Alice. In the past four years, she had had a total of zero significant relationships.

"I think it would be good for you to go out on a date," I suggested. Alice really did need to get back out there. It's not that I didn't think she and Jasper were meant to be together. I honestly did. I wanted them to work out more than anything. But it had been four years and Jasper was still holding strong on his convictions.

Alice frowned. "That wouldn't be very professional."

I rolled my eyes at her lame excuse. "Then someone else – anyone else. Maybe a guy in one of your classes? Or what about that guy on your climbing team? What was his –"

"Would you just drop it Bella?"

Alice's sudden outburst startled me and I sat up straighter on the couch, feeling like a scolded puppy with its tale between its legs.

"Garrett's not Jasper. He's never going to be Jasper – no one is. I'm not _like _you, okay? You have Edward and he adores you and that's great. I'm happy for you guys. Go live your little fairytale, but just leave me alone. Please. My fairytale ended four years ago and I'm never going to get it back. So just…stop it."

I felt a knot forming in my throat as I stared at Alice. Her big green eyes were so sad that my heart ached for her.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I wasn't trying to…I just want you to be happy, Alice."

"I know you do," she replied softly. "I want to be happy too I just…I don't know."

"It's never a fairytale though, Alice." I shook my head firmly. "What I have is certainly _not _a fairytale. Charlie doesn't even know and if he did…it's just really messed up. I love Edward, but this isn't easy. So don't think you're alone, Alice. We're all struggling."

"You _have _him, though, Bella," Alice whispered, so softly that I barely even heard her.

"Jasper loves you, Alice," I said abruptly, pushing off of the couch and walking over to her. "You have to know that."

She shook her head slowly. "I don't know anything anymore. It's been four years and…he doesn't care about me, Bella. Sometimes I think he never did."

"That's not true, Alice."

"Isn't it?" She looked at me with hurt eyes as I kneeled down in front of her.

"He does – he has to. That was the whole point."

Alice wiped away a stray tear and sighed, trying to rein in her emotions. "Sometimes I just…question everything, is all. I feel like I'm waiting around for something that's never going to happen."

I didn't really know what to say to that. All I could do was hug her. So I did – tightly.

"Wow," Alice said into my shoulder before pulling back. "This whole moment is way too _Gossip Girl _for me. Can we tone down the drama?"

I laughed at that and shook my head. I knew what Alice was doing – using some random humorous segue to change the subject. This was a tough one for her, though, so I'd let her get away with it.

"You watch _Gossip Girl_?"

She shrugged in response. "Crocs and _Gossip Girl _– they're all I've got these days."

"That's kind of sad, Alice," I observed with a grin.

"I know, right? Sometimes I watch _Gossip Girl _while wearing crocs with socks and I'm pretty sure I get sucked into some giant, pathetic wormhole." I laughed out loud at the image of that.

Happy Alice was back – for now.

###

"This is a disaster," Mike groaned, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"What is?" Jessica asked as she stabbed at her salad with a plastic fork.

"My parents are no longer going out of town this weekend," he explained. "My dad's conference got moved back a few weeks. And everyone thinks I'm going to be throwing this party and now they're going to think I'm one giant pile of lame."

I scoffed. "I highly doubt that, Mike. They'll get over it."

"We most certainly won't!" Jess shrieked, throwing a cherry tomato at Mike's head. He didn't even try to move out of the way. He simply let it hit him, willingly taking the abuse. "I had big plans for this weekend, Michael Newton! Does the name 'Eric Yorkie' ring a bell?"

"My reputation is on the line here, Jess! I really couldn't give two shits about Eric Yorkie."

They began bickering back and forth and I groaned, dropping my forehead onto the lunch table. Part of me was glad that the party was canceled. I didn't really want to go anyway. High school parties were silly and melodramatic. I didn't like seeing Mike so down in the dumps though. He usually had such a happy-go-lucky attitude and it was kind of infectious. Like a golden retriever.

Suddenly a thought occurred to me and I had an idea of how to get my golden retriever back. I'd simply throw him a bone.

"Why don't you just have it somewhere else?" I suggested, lifting my head off of the table.

Mike and Jess stopped fighting and turned to stare at me.

"That's genius!" Mike exclaimed at the same time as Jessica said, "Well, duh."

Mike scooted his chair back roughly, causing it to scrape across the cafeteria floor. "I need to make some phone calls," he announced excitedly before darting around tables and out the door.

"Of course he's going to have it somewhere else," Jessica said as she tried to stab a particularly stubborn piece of lettuce with her fork. "He can't _not _have it. I wonder where it will be moved to…".

I let Jess prattle on about the party while allowing my mind to wander. I didn't care about the party. I didn't want to go to the party. But now it seemed as though my fate was sealed. Mike would figure something out. It was definitely still on.

I didn't see Mike again until the end of the day. I guess he was "super-busy" making the arrangements.

As I walked through the large front doors of Huxley and down the front steps, an ear-to-ear grin split my face when I saw Edward across the way. He was leaning back against his Volvo and smiling at me. I wanted to sprint down the steps, across the front lawn, and jump into his arms, but I had to restrain myself. I hadn't seen him since Tuesday night and it was already Thursday. Maybe a day or two didn't seem like a long time to most people, but I was an addict. An Edward addict.

I waved to him lightly and increased my pace, but stopped suddenly when fingers curled around my wrist. Turning, I found myself face-to-face with Mike.

"I got it all figured out, Bella," he beamed. "The party is _back _on!"

"Uh, that's great Mike."

"And it's going to be amazing! It's this Saturday at eight – still the same time. You can make it, right?"

"Yeah, sure," I said distractedly, chancing a glance at Edward.

"Great! It's going to be at First Beach."

At those words, my blood ran cold. I snapped my head towards him and snatched my wrist away. "What?"

Mike looked taken aback by my reaction and stuttered. "Uh, F-First Beach?"

"Why is it there?"

"Well, you know my buddy Jake, right?"

This was getting worse and worse by the second. "Jacob Black?" I whispered.

"Yeah!" Mike said enthusiastically, oblivious to my inner turmoil. "Well I called him, and he said it's totally cool if we hold the party on the res. It'll be a little cold since it's October and all, but it should be fine. We'll make some bonfires, drink some beers. It'll be totally chill."

I dropped my gaze to the ground as my thoughts went into a tailspin. Jacob Black. First Beach. The Reservation. This was not good.

"Are you okay, Bella? You look a little green."

"Huh?" I snapped my eyes back up to Mike. I actually felt kind of dizzy. Maybe it was from my fall yesterday? I doubted that though.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Michael prodded, taking a step closer.

I shook my head, trying to clear it. Everything was wrong! Didn't he understand? No, of course not. Of course Mike Newton didn't understand. He didn't know anything. The thought of my two worlds colliding was too much. I knew that Mike was friendly with Jacob Black, but this? This spelled disaster. I took a step back and leaned against the cold metal railing, needing its support.

"Bella?" The sound of Edward's voice snapped me back to reality. He was standing to the right of Mike and me. I hadn't even noticed his approach. A palpable tension filled the air as the three of us stood there staring at one another.

"Uh, hi Edward," Mike said lamely.

"Hello, Michael."

Oh dear God, this was painfully awkward. It's not that Edward and Mike disliked each other. Hell, they barely even knew each other. It was just all of that alpha dog, macho man bullshit. They were staring each other down like gunslingers and I couldn't stand it.

"I've gotta go, Mike," I spewed out suddenly. "I'll call you later!" With that, I grabbed Edward by the hand and dragged him away. I heard Mike yell after me, but ignored him.

Edward followed me to the Volvo without protest. It wasn't until we were safely inside the car and pulling away from Huxley that he spoke. "What the hell was that all about?" I shook my head, not wanting to respond. "Bella?"

I sighed, knowing that there was no way he was going to let this go. "I don't know, Mike's having a party this weekend or something." I didn't want to tell Edward the details. It would only upset him. Besides, I wanted some time to mull over this before show and tell with Edward.

"Were you guys fighting?"

"What?"

"He grabbed you, Bella," Edward stated disapprovingly.

I scoffed. "He did not _grab me_."

"I know what I saw."

"Clearly you don't! There was no 'grabbing' of any kind."

"Why did you look like you were about to throw up?"

"What?"

"You looked sick!"

"Gee, thanks Edward, that's really sweet of you to say," I replied sarcastically, leveling him with a glare.

"Please, Bella, you know I didn't mean it like that." Edward's knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. He tended to do that when he was frustrated.

"How did you mean it then?"

"You looked upset!"

"I'm not upset!" I yelled.

"Why are we shouting?" He yelled back.

"I don't know!"

With that, Edward swerved to the side of the road, quickly put the car in park and turned off the ignition. Then he turned to stare at me. "What are we even fighting about?"

I shrugged sheepishly. "Beats me."

"Let's go for a walk," he suggested abruptly.

I furrowed my brow and turned to look out the window. We were on some back road, surrounded by pine trees. Further up the street, I saw a trail that led into the woods. Undeterred by the overcast sky above, I agreed and stepped out of the car.

Edward took my hand and we walked in silence, turning and going down the trail together. The soft chirping of birds and bubbling of a nearby creek was soothing. It was chilly out, being October and all, so I leaned into Edward's side. He let go of my hand and wrapped an arm around me.

The fresh, cool air seemed to calm us both down and it definitely cleared my head. We walked along in silence for a few minutes before he finally spoke. "Can we speak civilly now?"

"I think so," I replied slowly.

"Good. So what happened with Mike?"

"Nothing." I felt Edward tense – he thought I was lying. "Honestly. He was just telling me about some party he's throwing this weekend. The details caught me off guard, that's all. And he didn't _grab _me, Edward – seriously. He didn't hurt me at all – Mike would never do something like that."

Edward was silent for a moment and seemed to choose his words carefully before he spoke. "I believe you. But something upset you. What was it?"

I sighed. There was no way around this. I couldn't think of any excuses right then and honestly, I didn't want to lie to Edward. I had to come clean. Taking a deep breath, I spoke.

"So Mike is having a party this weekend and it was going to be at his house, but then his parents' trip got cancelled, so he thought he was going to have to call it off. But then he just decided to have it somewhere else."

"Okay?" Edward seemed confused, unsure of how any of this information could upset me. I took a moment to prepare myself for his reaction.

"He's going to have it at First Beach now."

Edward stopped walking. He stopped moving completely. His arm fell from around my shoulders and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head, they were so wide. He simply stared off into space for a few moments. I readied myself for his outburst.

Finally, Edward turned to look at me. "Well you're not going."

For some reason, those words and the way that he said them sparked something inside of me. "Excuse me?"

To my surprise, Edward actually looked like he was holding back laughter as he said, "You weren't honestly thinking about attending that thing, were you?"

"I hadn't really thought that far ahead yet. I hadn't decided."

"Well you don't have to decide," he assured me. "You're not going."

"Is that so?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Yes."

Who the hell did Edward think he was? What right did he have to tell me what I could and could not do? Where I could and could not go? Suddenly, I wanted to go to that party. Badly.

"Well that's just tough, Edward," I replied nonchalantly. "Because I'm going."

"What?"

"You heard me. _I'm going_."

"No you're not."

"Who are you, my father?"

"No, but I'm sure if he knew about this, he'd say the exact same thing."

"What? So you're going to tell on me now? Real mature, Edward."

"If it comes down to that, then yes, I will."

I was furious. I shoved him hard in the chest, but he didn't even move. That only made me angrier. I turned on my heel and stomped further down the trail, hands fisted at my sides. I could hear Edward loping along behind me.

"Why would you even _want _to go, Bella?" He called out. "He'll be there, won't he?"

"Who?" I asked, playing dumb.

"You know who."

I spun around to face him and he came to a stop right in front of me. "Jacob Black?" Edward nodded. I shrugged. "Probably."

"Well then you're _definitely _not going."

"Why?" I felt like a child right then. Why? Why? Why?

"You know why!" Edward cried, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Because Billy Black used to work for Charlie?"

"Because Billy Black is being paid a lot of money to keep his mouth _shut_! And I don't want you around him or that little shit son of his."

"You don't even know Jacob," I pointed out.

Edward raised his eyebrows. "And you do?" I couldn't respond to that. I didn't really know Jacob at all. I'd only heard about him from Mike. "I know what Jacob says about us – about your father in particular. Trust me, Bella. You don't want anything to do with him."

I sighed in frustration and dropped my eyes to the ground, kicking a small stone on the trail at my feet. Edward was right. I knew all of these things. I'd known the second that Mike said the words 'First Beach' that I couldn't go. But for some reason, those words made me _want _to go. I didn't care about the complications.

I didn't care that Billy Black used to work for Charlie until he found out about the other side of Swan Corp. – the side they don't want you to see. I didn't care that Billy had threatened to out the entire operation. I didn't care that Billy had almost ruined everything and that my father had to pay him off to keep him quiet. I didn't care at all. I just wanted to go to First Beach this weekend and have a fun time at the party. I didn't want to have to _worry _about things. I was tired of worrying.

Edward took a step towards me and reached out for my hand, lacing his fingers with mine.

"What is this really about?" He asked. I shrugged, refusing to look up at him. "Bella."

"I'm just tired, Edward," I said at last. "Of all of this. All of these secrets. It's really hard on me. You guys won't even tell me anything half of the time and it's really frustrating. So that's what it is…I'm just tired."

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "Are you tired…of us?"

My stomach lurched and my eyes shot open before snapping to his. "No!" I practically shouted. I huddled close to him and closed the distance between us. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled his head down closer to mine and stared into his deep eyes. "Edward, you're the one thing in my life that actually makes sense to me. I love you more than anything. That will never change – I'll never get tired of us. Ever."

Edward seemed to relax at my words. He dropped his forehead to mine. "Well that's good," he said softly. "Because I honestly don't know that I would do without you." My heart clenched at his words and suddenly I felt awful.

"I'm sorry, Edward," I whispered. I felt like a brat. "I'm sorry that I argue with you all of the time and drive you crazy."

He chuckled. "It's okay. Call me a masochist, but I think I actually kind of like it."

"I guess it keeps things interesting," I considered.

"It certainly does. And Bella, you know I only do these things to protect you. If something ever happened to you, I'd never be able to forgive myself." Edward almost choked on his last words.

"Shh," I whispered, leaning on my tiptoes to kiss him lightly. His arms came around me and held me close. "I'm fine."

Edward pressed his mouth to mine in a hot kiss and suddenly my feet were moving. I was so caught up in his arms that I didn't realize what direction they were going in until I felt the bark of a tree at my back. Stuck between Edward and a hard place was my favorite spot to be.

I curled my fingers into his messy bronze locks and sighed blissfully as he trailed light kisses down my neck. I didn't feel bad anymore. I'm pretty sure Edward knew that I was desperately in love with him – he just needed little reminders every once in awhile.

There was still a problem though. I knew it was a bad idea, but I was going to First Beach on Saturday. The only part I had to figure out was _how_.

**###**

**Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!**


	6. Five

**A/N: **Hello! Many thanks to everyone who has been reading, reviewing, etc. I'm so glad that people are enjoying my story. I'm having a lot of fun as well. I hope you like this chapter!

**###**

I stretched out on the couch and sighed in content, my eyes glazing over as Emmett switched through channel after channel on the large television in front of me. A soft rain pattered against our expansive living room windows and I looked out at the green landscape, which was becoming blurred by the spattering drops.

"Go back to _Project Runway_," Alice ordered from her spot on the recliner. She was curled up under a fleece blanket and looked just as content as I felt.

"Hells no, Tinkerbell," Emmett replied. "It's a repeat anyway."

"And how would you know that, Emmett?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, Emmett," Alice chimed, snickering to herself. "Are you a big fan of Tim Gunn?"

"Heidi Klum is hot," he said defensively, fidgeting under our scrutiny. "Just…shut up." Alice and I cackled as Emmett continued to squirm.

It was Friday afternoon. Alice had picked me up from school and we'd driven back to my house, intent on curling up by the TV since it was pouring rain outside. We'd come home only to discover that Emmett had beaten us to it. For the past hour we'd been bickering back and forth, unable to find a single channel that we could all agree on.

"_Deadliest Catch_!" Alice exclaimed, clapping her hands together. I sat up straighter; my eyes were glued to the screen. One thing that Alice, Emmett, and I all had in common was our passion for the Alaskan fishing show. The room fell silent as we all sat, entranced.

A clap of thunder rang out, forcing me to break my gaze from the screen and look out the window again. The sky was even darker than before, due in part to both the looming storm clouds and the fading daylight.

"Most dangerous job on earth, my ass," Emmett muttered.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You wouldn't last one day working out on one of those boats, Emmett."

"_They_ wouldn't last one day working for Bella's father," Emmett replied with a smirk.

"Shut up, Emmett," I mumbled.

"Yes, _shut up Emmett_," a voice rang out from behind us.

We all spun around to find Jasper and Edward standing a few feet behind us. Jasper, who had spoken the words, had his arms crossed and wore a disapproving look on his face. "There's no need for that," he continued.

"Yes your majesty," Emmett retorted, turning back to look at the screen.

I glanced over at Alice. She had her eyes trained on her lap, where she was wringing her hands fiercely.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, looking at Edward curiously.

"We're meeting Charlie," Jasper explained, walking forward and sitting on the end of the couch opposite from Emmett. "He should be along in a short while. Are you ready to go, Emmett?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said distractedly, waving Jasper off.

"Go? Go where?" I asked, turning my eyes on Jasper. Edward hadn't moved from behind us.

"Olympia," Jasper said tersely.

"What's in Olympia?" I prodded.

Jasper's jaw twitched. He was even more meager with information than Edward. Jasper was great, but he took his job very seriously.

"Things that need tending to," he supplied at last.

"What things?"

"Business things."

"But why –"

"Bella," Jasper snapped, silencing me with a serious look. I shrank under his gaze. Jasper also made me feel more like a child than Edward ever did. I missed the way that Jasper used to be – before he got involved with Swan Corp. This business changed everyone that got involved – that was inevitable. But it affected Jasper differently. Emmett and Edward took this business seriously, but Jasper brought it to a whole new level.

I turned back to look at Edward again and found him smirking at me. I glared.

Edward kept his eyes trained on me, but inclined his head towards the stairs before turning on his heel and walking in that direction. I was about to hop up and follow him, but stopped to check over on Alice. She seemed to be involved in the television show, but I knew better. She had to be acutely aware of Jasper sitting there, not five feet away from her. I kind of felt bad about leaving, but I'd be back soon. And the boys would leave and she could vent to me then.

With that, I pushed myself off of the couch and moved to follow Edward.

"Have fun, Bella!" Emmett called out laughingly. I ignored him and hurried up the stairs. I found Edward at the top, leaning back against the wall. I took his hand and led him further down the hallway and out of the view of the foyer. Once we were safely away from any prying eyes, I turned and placed my hands on his shoulders, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him firmly.

Edward's fingers tickled my sides as he backed me into the wall. I swatted at him halfheartedly, giggling in between kisses. He pressed a firm kiss on my forehead before pulling back and smiling at me. Wrapping my arms around his torso, I pulled him closer and hummed in contentment. I didn't even realize I'd been cold until his warmth enveloped me.

"You're leaving?" I mumbled into his chest, running my hands up and down his firm, muscled back.

"Mm-hmm," he confirmed while nuzzling the hollow behind my ear. I harrumphed and Edward chuckled. "We have to go to Olympia, like Jasper said."

"Stupid Jasper," I said petulantly, furrowing my brow. "He wouldn't give up _anything_."

"You know how Jasper is."

"I know that Jasper has a stick up his ass."

"Bella," he admonished lightly.

"You know I'm right." Edward sighed, but didn't fight me on it. "I just wish he'd relax is all. He used to be fun. Remember?"

"Things have changed," he replied, pulling back to look me in the eyes. I wouldn't let go of him though, so there wasn't much space between us. "The circumstances are different now."

I frowned up at him. "You think I don't know that?"

"I know that you do."

I paused for a moment before continuing. "I talked to Alice."

"About?"

"She's never going to get over him, Edward."

"I doubt either of them ever will," he said simply.

I gawked at him. "And you can just accept that? She's hurting, Edward. Your _sister _is heartbroken."

"And what am I supposed to do about that?"

"Have you ever talked to Jasper about it?" I prodded.

"Occasionally."

"And?"

"And what, Bella? We've talked about this before. No one blames Jasper for what he did," Edward explained. "He knew what he was getting himself into. I actually admire him for it."

I'd never heard Edward say _that _before. I knew he was pro-Jasper, but this? His words scared me. I couldn't help but hold him tighter, thinking that maybe I could hold him tight enough so that we'd fuse together permanently. That way he could never leave, not even to go on stupid trips like the one this weekend.

"What are you saying?" I whispered.

He smiled at me. "Don't worry, Bella. I'm much more selfish than Jasper."

"Meaning?"

"_Meaning _that I don't have the strength to do what he did. I couldn't stay away from you if I tried." His words made my insides feel all fuzzy and I grinned, leaning up to kiss him firmly. He returned the kiss with gusto and ran his hands down my back, slipping them under the elastic waistband of my sweatpants.

"Edward," I groaned. "We can't. Charlie will be home any minute."

"I know," he said regretfully, pulling away with a resigned sigh. I gazed at him longingly, desperately wishing that my words weren't true. I cursed myself for even saying them.

"So what are you _really _going to Olympia for?" I asked, trying to change the subject and get my mind out of the gutter.

"To visit some of Charlie's warehouses. Nothing very exciting. We'll probably be back on Sunday morning," he explained lazily.

"Good."

"Good?"

"Well it's not dangerous, so I don't need to worry," I explained. "_And _you'll be back on Sunday, so I don't have to wait long to see you again." I pecked his lips playfully.

"True," he agreed slowly.

Suddenly, my mind started buzzing. Everyone would be _gone _this weekend. I was free to go to First Beach on Saturday with no restrictions. This would be even easier than I thought. I could go on Saturday night, be back in time for the boys to get home, and Edward would be none the wiser.

As if he could read my mind, Edward said, "Maybe you and Alice could go see a movie on Saturday night. I know your friends will be at First Beach and you're disappointed that you can't go." I froze at his words. Maybe Edward really _could _read minds. This wouldn't be the first time he'd freaked me out with his innate ability to know that I'm thinking.

"You're not going, right?"

"No," I said quickly, feeling like the antichrist. I felt horrible for lying to Edward. My stomach was in knots and I was downright disgusted with myself. But for some reason, I knew that I had to go to First Beach on Saturday. Maybe it was just the newfound rebelliousness inside of me, but I had to be there.

Edward smiled down at me. "Good. I'm glad you understand. There will be other parties, Bella. It's really not that important anyway."

I nodded quickly, refusing to look him in the eye. I was a terribly liar, and no one knew that better than Edward. If I looked at him now, he'd out me for sure. Panicking, I quickly crushed my lips to his, practically sticking my tongue down his throat. I was trying to distract him, and I think it was working. He seemed to forget the conversation as his arms came around me. I kind of started to forget too.

He continued kissing me for a few minutes longer before he finally pulled away with a sigh.

"Charlie will be home soon," he stated.

"Yes."

"We should go back downstairs."

I frowned. I didn't _want _to go back downstairs. I _wanted _to go to my room and rip Edward's clothes off. That was an unlikely outcome, though, so with one last kiss, I allowed him to lead me back into the living room.

"And what were _you two _doing?" Emmett asked suggestively, eyeing us as we plopped down on the loveseat together.

"Grow up, Emmett," I said, leaning into Edward's side as his arm curled around my shoulders. I'd revel in our last few moments of freedom as much as I could.

Glancing over at Alice, I saw that she was still in the exactsame position I'd left her in. Her knuckles were white from the tension and she suddenly reminded me of Edward. Jasper also looked painfully awkward as he sat there rigidly with his eyes trained on the screen.

At the sight of Charlie's Range Rover pulling into the driveway, Jasper shot up and practically sprinted out of the room and down the hall towards my father's office. Emmett followed, but at a much slower pace.

Edward gave me a tight squeeze and kissed my temple before standing and sweeping out of the room.

I heard the front door open a minute later and Charlie walked into the living room.

"Hello, Alice," he said cheerfully.

"Mr. Swan," she greeted him with a nod.

"Bella," he said firmly. "I've got some business to take care of in Olympia this weekend. Nothing big. I'll be back on Sunday."

I nodded in understanding and with that, Charlie turned and walked down towards his office.

Alice and I sat in silence for a few minutes, watching crab pot after crab pot dump out onto the different ships.

"I'm not lying to Edward, you know," she said suddenly, taking me completely off guard.

"Huh?"

"About Saturday."

"How do you even…". I hadn't really told Alice much more about the party on Saturday other than that Mike had moved it to First Beach.

"First Beach, Bella? Really?"

I shrugged sheepishly.

"Anyway," she continued. "I know you're going to go even though Edward told you not to. I'm not going to try and stop you, but just know that if he asks me, I'll tell him the truth."

"You're killing me here, Alice," I moaned. I knew Edward was her brother and all, but as my best friend, wasn't she supposed to be on _my _side?

"It's a bad idea, Bella," she stated. "I don't know why you'd want to socialize with _Jacob Black_." She spat his name like it was an infectious disease. "But to each his own.

"There's just one thing," she continued. "Do not punch Jacob Black in the face." I stared at her, dumbfounded. "You're going to want to – he'll deserve it – but don't. No good can come of it."

"How do you…" I found myself asking, but then stopped when Alice shook her head at me. I really had no idea how Alice's 'power' worked or if it was really a power at all. She was usually right about these predictions of hers though. But in this case, instead of making me weary, it just made me _more _excited.

I knew that it wasn't a good idea for me to go to First Beach tomorrow. I'd always known that. But that's what I liked about it. This would be a thrill. Something stupid, something fun. Just something bad for me. And I desperately wanted to do something that was bad for me. Something that was bad for me by _my _choice.

"I'm going," I confirmed aloud, more for my sake than Alice's.

"I know. I already told you that. Just know that I don't approve and I'm not covering for you."

"Edward won't even _be _here," I reasoned with her. "He never has to know."

Alice just looked at me disapprovingly before turning back to the television. She didn't understand. That was okay – I didn't expect her to. I didn't really understand either – I just knew.

###

The next afternoon, I wandered into the kitchen to wait for Jessica, only to find Kate there, pulling a fresh batch of brownies out of the oven.

Thank god I had Kate. She didn't know the intricacies of my father's business, but she knew enough to get by living in the same house as us. And she provided ample amounts of baked goods.

Kate had left Ireland to come to America twenty years ago with her husband, but he was killed in a car accident just a year after they moved to California. When my father hired her as a nanny both he and Greta were still in mourning for their loved ones. I like to think that they helped heal each other in a way. Kate wasn't a mother figure to just me. She was not afraid to put my father in his place from time to time – a feat that no one ever usually attempted, much less accomplished.

I think that Kate was trying to fatten me up because every time I walked into the kitchen nowadays there was some kind of baked good waiting for me. I parked myself at the island and dug into a brownie hungrily while Kate poured me a glass of milk.

"Kate," I said between bites, "I think that I've gained five pounds in three days."

"Good," she replied, placing the glass in front of me before going to cut a slice for herself. "You're too skinny as it is."

Kate flitted around the kitchen, cleaning up the mess from her baking. "Oh, Bella," she said suddenly, "your father left these for you."

Furrowing my brow, I took a stack of brochures from her, then groaned. They were all college brochures. My appetite gone, I shoved the plate away and dropped my forehead to the cool, marble countertop.

"What is it, Bella?" Kate asked in concern.

I sighed, looking up into her wondering eyes. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"You know that you can," she encouraged, smiling warmly.

"It's just that everyone has been on my case about college lately," I began with a sigh, slumping back into my chair. "And I don't know what to say."

"Have you applied anywhere yet?" She came around the counter to sit on the barstool next to me.

I shook my head. "No, not yet. I just…I don't know what the future holds for me. I can't exactly join the family business – Charlie would never allow that. But honestly, what am I expected to do?"

"Well, what is it that you want to do?" Her tone was encouraging, but I shrugged. "Bella, you can do whatever you want. It's _your _life. You cannot let anyone else make that decision for you."

"Really though?" I finally met her gaze. "Can I _really _do whatever it is that I want? This is my life." I motioned around with my hands before letting them fall back to my sides. "How am I supposed to try and live a normal life when I know about this? How am I supposed to get through a day without calling to check up on Charlie? I can't just leave all of this behind and try to go live 'normally', whatever that means. This _is _my life." It felt good to get this off of my chest.

"Oh, Bella," Kate murmured, standing and wrapping her arms around me. "Of _course _you can live your own life. That's exactly what Charlie wants for you. He's never wanted you to be a part of this. It kills him every day to know that he's dragged you into this with him."

"But that's the point," I choked out. "I'm already a part of this; I'm in too deep now."

"Don't ever say that." Her voice was soft but serious. "Your father has done everything in his power to make sure that that is not the case."

"What about Edward?" I whispered. Kate pulled back to look into my eyes. "I can't just leave him behind like that. I love him so much it hurts. The thought of leaving…I just…I can't. I can't.

"I wish that I could apply to Georgetown without a second thought," I continued. "I wish that I could be like Mike and Jess and apply to any schools that I want, but I _can't. _I can't get through the day without talking to him or at least knowing where he is. I just can't do it, Kate." I rested my head on her shoulder, exhausted. It felt as though a hundred pound weight had been lifted off of me and I sighed. I had finally told someone the truth.

Kate's soothing hands ran over my back in an attempt to calm me down. We stayed like that for a few minutes before she finally pulled back. "I understand, sweetheart. Really, I do. What about schools closer then, hmm? You don't have to go all the way to Washington D.C. for a good education. I know that Charlie wants to get you out of Washington, but more than that he just wants you to go to a good school."

I nodded, sniffling. "I was thinking about applying to UW Seattle, actually. It's a good school and it's close. I don't know…I'm not worried about finding a good school. I just don't want to fight with my father."

"I'll have a word with him if he starts giving you any trouble," she assured me with a smile.

"You don't have to do that." I chuckled at the fact that a sixty-five year old Irish woman was one of the only people that could put my father in his place.

"You have options, Bella. It's just up to you to decide what's best. What do _you _want? That's the only thing that truly matters."

"Thanks, Kate. For everything." I smiled as she returned to her seat.

**###**

"When's your father getting back?" Jess asked as I helped her carry bags of clothing from her car.

I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"It sucks that he leaves so much."

I just nodded.

"But let's not think about that right now," she encouraged brightly. "We've got a party to get ready for!" We got out of my car and made our way up the walkway towards my front door. Suddenly pain shot through my entire right foot as I tripped over something.

"Holy mother of –". I began letting out every curse word I'd ever heard as I grabbed my right foot and hopped around on my left, dropping Jessica's clothes to the ground. She cackled at me from her spot in front of the door.

I noticed a man standing off to the side that I didn't recognize. He was wearing dirty jeans and a T-shirt and staring at me with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" The words came out strained; my foot was still killing me.

"The uh, the gardener. Paulo is sick."

That was a good enough response for me. I wanted to get out of there and put my foot into an ice bath. Or chop it off. The latter was looking like more and more of a possibility with each painful step that I took.

Jess practically dragged me into the kitchen where Kate was plating chocolate chip cookies. I limped along lamely behind her.

"Hi Kate!" Jess hugged her tightly.

"So good to see you, Jessica," Kate replied, handing her a cookie. She handed one to me as well and we both sat down at the counter. Kate took in my pained expression and asked, "What happened to you?"

"A ladder attacked me." Kate chuckled and rolled her eyes, mocking my pain.

"What are you ladies up to this afternoon?" Kate asked, leaning back against the counter to look at us.

"Mike's having a party tonight," Jess explained, swallowing a mouthful of brownie. "These are delicious, by the way."

"Family recipe."

Jess nodded. "Anyway, Bella and I are going to get ready together"

"That sounds like fun," Kate said. "I'm glad you'll be getting Bella out of the house." Was I really _that _much of a homebody? Yeesh. If Kate was starting to notice, then I _really _needed to get out more. Starting with tonight.

We said goodbye to Kate before making our way up to my bedroom. Jessica made a beeline for my closet, ignoring the piles of clothes that she'd forced me to haul up the stairs as though I was her own personal Sherpa.

"Bella, this is _so _cute!" Jess's voice sounded from the depths of my massive closet. "Is it new?"

"Probably," I mumbled. I'd gone shopping with Alice, hoping that some retail therapy would numb my guilt for going to First Beach. It didn't.

"Can I wear this tonight?"

I nodded without even looking up at her.

Jess and I spent the rest of the afternoon trying on different outfits, listening to ridiculous music and generally having an enjoyable time.

Since it was going to be cold and dark, I didn't want to wear anything that would be uncomfortable. Jeans and a sweater were fine for me. Jessica insisted on wearing high heels, even though I told her it was a horrible idea. She just wouldn't listen. So I gave up. Let her fall on her face while she tried to walk through sand.

I offered to drive to First Beach, which was a little over forty-five minutes away. The one stipulation I'd given myself was that I could _not _drink. I figured that going to First Beach in itself was bad enough, so it was best not to add other troubling factors such as alcohol into the equation. Therefore, acting as designated driver was a surefire way to get out of any scrutiny – especially from Mike, who I knew would probably he drunk by the time we got there.

The party technically started at eight o'clock, but Jessica insisted that we couldn't arrive a second before eight forty-five. She had an obsession with being fashionably late. And she wanted to arrive after Eric Yorkie so that she could make an entrance, whatever that meant. Jessica did a lot of things that didn't make any sense to me, but I found myself going along with them anyway.

So at eight forty-seven, we exited my car and walked the dark path down to First Beach, which was illuminated with various bonfires and tiki torches. There were already a lot of people there – sitting on logs, in chairs, or just milling around the fires. I even spied a few couples out beyond the reach of the light.

A few kegs sat off to the side with red solo cups scattered everywhere. Since Huxley was a small school, I knew that the people I _didn't _recognize most likely didn't go there. The Quileutes were pretty easy to spot with their trademark black hair and tanned skin. I didn't see Jacob Black anywhere, thankfully, but ever since Alice's prediction, I knew that running into him was an inevitability. Part of me didn't care though. I was almost _excited_. Two could talk trash – I had some choice words for Jacob Black myself.

"Bellaaa!" My head shot up in time to see Mike Newton stumbling through the sand, trusty red solo cup in hand. He was definitely drunk.

He stumbled over to Jessica and me with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"How are my two favorite girls?" He slurred, eyes glazed as he tried to look at us.

"Wow Michael. Less than an hour into the party and you're already hammered. Congratulations, that has to be a new record or something," Jessica said amusedly, crossing her arms as she stared at Mike.

He just shrugged sheepishly, not even trying to deny it. "What can I say, Jess? I just like to have a good time."

"Evidently."

"And you two!" He pointed his finger at us accusatorily. "Your hands are entirely too empty."

"Don't worry, Mike," I assured him, reaching out to pat his shoulder. "We're working on it."

"Good." And with that, he stumbled away in another direction, leaving Jessica and I standing there, holding back laughter.

"That boy is a mess," she observed, shaking her head.

"He sure is."

I walked over and waited for Jessica to pour herself a beer before we made our way over to one of the driftwood fires. The October chill was out in full force and I was glad I'd chosen to go with a sweater as opposed to the skimpy cover-up that Jessica had on. She was already complaining about the high heels and I had to bite back a grin and my urge to say 'I told you so'.

There were a few people in my classes that I fell into easy conversations with. Jessica practically had a heart attack when Eric Yorkie walked over and she sidled up to him almost immediately. I rolled my eyes, unamused by her obvious, over-the-top flirtation. I don't know what Jessica saw in Eric; he really didn't seem all that special to me.

At one point, I realized that it was just the three of us around the fire and was hit by an overwhelming bout of 'third wheel syndrome'. Shaking it off, I moved away from the fire and walked down towards the water. The sound of the waves crashing rhythmically onto the beach was soothing and I wished it wasn't so cold out. I'd love nothing more than to take my shoes off and wiggle my toes in some wet sand. I found myself wishing that Edward was here with me. Pulling out my phone, I saw that I had no missed calls or messages. He was definitely still unaware of the fact that I'd come here.

"Too good for our party, Swan?"

My veins suddenly turned to ice, and it wasn't from the cold air. I knew that voice. It had been a few years since I'd heard it, but it hadn't changed much. With a sigh, I turned around to face the one person I'd been preparing myself for. When my eyes finally did reach him, I was surprised by how much he'd grown in the last few years. The last time I'd seen him, we were about the same height. Now, he towered over me by at least a foot. I tried not to let my surprise show, though. The last thing I wanted him to think was that I was intimidated.

"Hello, Jacob."

**###**

**A/N #2: Dun dun dun! Just a quick note: this story is strictly Bella/Edward. There will be no Bella/Jacob, so don't worry your pretty little heads. But Jacob's not going to be a crazy psycho rapist or anything either. Just thought I'd put that out there. **

**As always, thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think! **


	7. Six

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone that's been reading and reviewing! Let's meet Jacob Black…

**###**

The light was dim out by the water, but I could still make out Jacob's form pretty well – more from the glow of the moon than anything else. His features were dark, like the rest of the Quileutes, yet defined. At this moment, the most defined thing about his entire face was the glare that he wore.

"You've got a lot of guts coming down here, Bella."

"I was invited," I defended lamely, steeling myself against his onslaught.

"I'm aware," Jacob retorted. "Mike told me. I didn't think you'd actually show up though."

"Are you saying that I'm unwelcome?"

He just shrugged. "You said it, not me. Does Daddy Dearest even know you're here?" I chose not to answer that particular question and Jacob scoffed. "He doesn't, does he? And those cronies of his? Do you have them scratching their heads too?"

"No one knows I'm here," I spat. It was probably the wrong thing to say, but I didn't want Jacob thinking that I was simply some puppet of my father's. I couldn't stand that idea – it made me physically ill.

Jacob's eyebrows shot up at that comment. "Gone rogue, have you, Swan? It's about time."

"I haven't gone rogue either," I whispered fiercely. "And would you keep your voice down? People are going to hear us."

"Good. I hope they do," he replied quickly. "People deserve to know. You might be paying my father to keep his mouth shut, but that doesn't apply to me. I'm free to do what I want."

"Well then do it away from me." I turned to leave, but Jacob wasn't having any of it. He quickly grabbed my wrist and spun me back around, causing my heart rate to spike and a tremor to sweep down my spine.

"Where are you going?" His eyes danced as he looked down at me. We were much closer now. "We weren't done talking yet."

"I have nothing to say to you." I stared daggers at him.

"Tough."

I snatched my hand away from him but didn't move again. _Fine_. If Jacob had things to say to me, then he could go ahead and say them.

"How is your father these days?" He asked, catching me slightly off-guard. "Is he still destroying lives left and right?"

"He's fine." I chose to ignore the latter part of Jacob's question.

"Yeah I'm sure you're all fine over there at _Sham _Corp. Rolling in dough that you've made at the expense of others."

I shook my head. I didn't want to hear this. I didn't need to be reminded.

"Pathetic," Jacob continued. "You can't even defend them because you _know _it's true. Your father is a life-ruining piece of shit."

"Don't talk about my father that way!" I snapped, curling my hands into fists. I was quickly tiring of his abuse.

"I'll say whatever I want," he said icily, dropping his head closer to mine and hardening his glare. "My father can't even get a job now ever since he was fired from _your _father's company. Charlie saw to that. He ruined everything."

"That's not my fault."

"It is by association. With Charlie and that entire agency." Jacob crossed his arms defensively and shook his head in what can only be described as disgust. "The people that work for him are just as despicable as he is. Especially those Cullens."

I froze; unprepared for this line of attack. Where was Jacob going with this? I tried not to let my uneasiness show.

"Carlisle Cullen single-handedly destroyed my father's career, you know," he said coldly. "All of the work that my dad put into that company was overlooked when that bastard fired him. I'm _glad _he's dead. I threw a fucking _party _the day I found out. He deserves to rot in hell."

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Alice was right. I _did _want to punch Jacob Black. _Badly_. I had to physically restrain myself from throttling him. The worst part was that he was _laughing _at me. Jacob knew that he'd gotten to me. I couldn't let him talk about Carlisle that way though. I wasn't allowed to punch him, but Alice didn't say anything about shoving him. So I did just that. I pushed Jacob Black with everything that I had and, to my surprise, he actually stumbled back a bit.

"You shut your mouth, Jacob Black. You don't know what you're talking about," I said fiercely.

"And you do?" He seemed almost amused.

I shook my head, trying to clear it, and took a few steps away from him. If I were being honest with myself, I'd have to sort of agree with Jacob. Did I really know what I was talking about? No one ever told me anything. But still, I couldn't just let Jacob say those things about the people I loved.

"That's my family you're talking about."

He scoffed. "The Cullens are _not _your family."

"Well they're as good as! And that is my _father _you're talking about, so you'd be wise to keep your mouth shut."

"Ohh, scary. I'm shaking in my boots over here, Bella."

I hated him. I hated him with every fiber of my being. There were parts of Swan Corp. that were morally and ethically wrong, yes. I had always known that. Did I know the ins and outs of them? No. But there wasn't a whole lot that I could do about that. So I had to go on faith. And I had faith in my father. And Edward. And Jasper. And Emmett. And all of the others at Swan Corp. who risked their lives every day. I had faith that they were inherently good people. Sometimes good people could do bad things. I was born into this, though. It was never a choice for me. I had to play with the hand that I was dealt.

"You're nothing more than a child, Jacob," I said lowly. "Your words are exceedingly petty."

"Are they? Really? I'm not that much younger than you, Bella. But the sad part is, I think that I know a lot more."

"You don't know _anything_." I may have been overreaching here, but I had to stand up for myself somehow. I couldn't just let Jacob Black walk all over me.

"I think it's time for you to go, Bella." His words were cold and venomous.

"Funny," I spat. "I was just about to say the same exact thing."

Without another word, I marched back up the beach through the sand, looking around for Jessica. My mind was spinning. That conversation with Jacob had left me in a daze and I wasn't sure what to make out of many of the things that had been said.

After scanning the beach for a few minutes, I finally found Jessica, still huddled close to Eric Yorkie's side.

"Hey, Jess," I said loudly, coming up beside her.

"Bella! There you are!" She threw her arms around me and I stumbled under her weight.

"Everything okay over here?" I asked her, inclining my head towards Eric.

Jess nodded fiercely and giggled. "Oh! You don't have to drive me home anymore. Eric's got it covered."

"Are you sure?" I asked, worried. "Is he okay to drive?"

"Ease off, Swan." I looked up at Eric, who had inserted himself into our conversation. His arm snaked around Jessica's waist. "I've got her." To his credit, he didn't seem drunk.

He took a step closer towards me, shifting Jess behind him. "Unless, of course, you'd like to take her place. In which case, I'd be happy to drive _you_." He ran his hand down my arm and I immediately slapped it away, irate.

"Don't touch me!" I snarled. Eric and his friends burst into laughter. That was it. I had had it with this party. Alice was right. Edward was right. Fucking _everyone _was right. I should not have come. "You're disgusting. Every last one of you." With that, I spun around and practically ran to my car. I felt like I was going to explode.

Once I was safely inside and had the doors locked, I leaned my head back against the rest. With my eyes closed, I tried to slow my breathing down. I was practically panting at this point. The intensity of everything had gotten me really worked up.

It felt good to be away from the party and the noise. I could still see the fires in the distance and the sound of laughter floated my way occasionally. Other than that, it was dark and quiet. Peace at last.

I tried to think back over my conversation with Jacob, but everything was so muddled. I hated the nagging feeling in my gut that I could not dismiss everything that he said – some of it required further thought. I just couldn't figure out exactly _what_.

Giving up, I stuck the key in the ignition and my car revved to life. After getting out of the parking lot, I floored it – needing to get as far away from the beach as possible. I didn't go home though. Instead, I just drove, leaving the windows down and allowing the cold air to calm and soothe me as I drove along the Puget Sound. The roads were dark and deserted, but that didn't surprise me. It was quite late – I'd been at that party longer than I realized.

My fingers began to go numb from the cold, but I didn't care. My body was numb already – it had been that way since I left La Push. I just couldn't get a hold of myself.

At some point – I'm really not sure how much later – I made my way back to the house. What I saw in the driveway, however, caused me to panic.

Cars. Lots of them. They were back. _Oh no. _

Pulling out my phone, I saw that I still had no missed calls or messages. Maybe they didn't know…that seemed unlikely though. My fire engine red car's absence was usually pretty obvious. Edward would notice.

_Edward_. The thought of him caused my blood pressure to spike yet again. He would _definitely _notice that I wasn't home. And if he called Alice…

This was a disaster. With a resigned sigh, I pushed the car door open and made my way up the stone walk. The front door was unlocked, but I found an empty foyer behind it. I stood there for a minute, listening. I couldn't hear anything though. Most likely that meant that everyone was still in Charlie's office. The walls were soundproof.

Throwing my bag aside, I raced up the stairs and down the hall into my bedroom.

I felt jittery and uncomfortable – like I'd just downed six cups of coffee. I needed to purge myself of this disastrous night.

Without even turning the lights on, I pulled off my clothes and walked into the bathroom. The hot spray of the shower was relaxing and the lack of light was therapeutic. I didn't want to look at myself right now. I stood under the water for a long time, allowing it to wash off every last, uncomfortable detail of the night. I wish it could wash away everything permanently, but I knew that that was an impossibility.

At last, I got out of the shower and scrounged up some flannel pajama pants and an old T-shirt. My room was still dark and empty. I wondered where Edward was or if he'd even be able to come and see me tonight. I knew that he was here – I'd seen his stupid, shiny Volvo in the driveway.

After turning on my small bedside lamp, I crawled into the middle of my large bed and sat Indian-style facing the door. The lamp didn't flood the room with light by any means and I enjoyed the fact that parts were still dark. Even the illuminated spaces were dim.

My hair was still pretty wet and I could feel water dripping down my back and neck. I ignored it though. Also, despite the heat of the shower, I was cold again. That probably had something to do with the fact that my windows were open, but I didn't want to close them. I needed the air – I craved it.

I don't know how long I sat there waiting. I couldn't think straight. I desperately wished that I knew what was wrong with me, but I couldn't figure it out. All I knew was that I did not feel like myself, but I wasn't sure what was off. I sat there on my white comforter, fidgeting. I'm not sure how long it was before Edward finally came in.

He didn't knock and the sound of the door creaking open was so faint that I could barely hear it. Once he was inside the room, Edward closed the door behind him and leaned back against it. He had yet to look at me, but I could tell. He knew what I had done – where I had gone. His demeanor was one of disapproval and anger. I sat there, waiting for his wrath, but it never came. We were swathed in silence for some time. It was beginning to make me uncomfortable.

"Edward?" I whispered. After a few seconds, he finally turned his head toward me. His eyes were cold though – not the emerald pools of warmth that I preferred. It felt like he was looking through me, not at me. I could feel a knot forming in my throat as a new sensation crept into my gut. I wanted to _cry_.

"I went to First Beach," I squeaked, unable to stand the silence any longer. I knew that he knew this already, but saying it aloud seemed to make it more concrete.

"I know." Edward still hadn't moved an inch. The fact that he hadn't started yelling yet unnerved me.

"I'm sorry," I said, simply because I really didn't know what else to say. I wasn't all that sorry, in reality.

"Why?"

"Because!" I threw my hands up, growing weary of his odd reactions. "You told me not to go! I lied to you, Edward. I looked straight into your eyes and lied to you. Alice even told me not to go. She –"

"I knew you were going to go, Bella," he interrupted softly.

That threw me. "Huh?"

Edward pushed away from the door with a sigh and finally walked closer to me. "How many times do I have to tell you that you're an awful liar before you finally believe me?" I blushed at that. "Did you really think your over-used distraction techniques would work on me yesterday?" He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Come on, Bella. A little more respect, please."

"So you knew the whole time?" I asked dumbly, unwilling to believe him. Edward simply nodded. "But…why didn't you try to stop me?"

Edward finally moved to sit down on the edge of my bed, much to my relief. He turned to face me but didn't look at me. He still seemed distant. "I may be a lot of things, Bella," he began, "but – as you pointed out before – I'm not your father, thank God for that. I can't control what you do, and frankly, I don't want to. Am I upset that you went? Yes. Angry that you lied to me? Yes. But surprised? No, I'm not surprised. Your stubbornness is always something that I can rely on."

"But…" I didn't even know what to say. Edward had _let _me put myself in danger? Well okay, it wasn't really all _that _dangerous, but it was still something that he didn't approve of. He had known this whole time and just _let _me go gallivanting off, feeling like a rebel. Now I just felt kind of stupid. Like when a little kid runs away for the first time, only to find out that their parents knew about it called ahead to the neighbors before he or she even got there.

I fidgeted, unsure of where to go from here. "So you're not mad?"

"I wouldn't go that far," he amended. "But I'm probably not as mad as you think I am. Besides, you're back safe and sound. Looks like I didn't need to worry as much as I did after all." He offered up a weak grin.

I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't stand the space between us – even a few millimeters of air was too much. I launched myself at him, practically pushing him off of the bed. He managed to remain seated somehow, but my actions definitely surprised him. My whole body began to shake as I clung to him, ducking my head into his shoulder.

"Bella?" Edward was running his hands all over me, like he was checking me for damage. "What is it? What's wrong? Why are you trembling?" I pulled back to look at him. His eyes were wide and held the same concern that his voice did. I tightened my arms around his neck, trying to get as close as possible. Edward shifted me in his arms, but still held me tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Edward. It was awful – you were right. I shouldn't have gone; it was a mistake. Jacob Black…" I didn't even know what to say about him. I just shook my head.

Edward froze at the name and his eyes narrowed. "What did he do? I'll kill him."

I shook my head quickly. "He didn't do anything really. But what he _said_."

Edward didn't answer immediately. His hands ran soothing motions up and down my back, trying to lull me into peace. "What did he say, Bella?"

"Just…horrible things about Charlie and Swan Corp. and you." I couldn't bring myself to tell Edward what Jacob had said about Carlisle. Then Edward probably _would _kill him. I didn't even know if I could actually bring myself to repeat the words, they were so repulsive. "He just said a lot of things that I couldn't respond to…I didn't know what to say."

"Did he hurt you?

"Not physically."

"Words can hurt too, Bella."

I sighed. "Well then yes, he did. He just…he was so angry, Edward."

Edward didn't respond, but he pulled me closer, resting his forehead on my shoulder. I ran my fingers through his coppery hair, drawing comfort from the familiar feel and smell of Edward. I finally felt like I was warming up now that he was here with me.

"What are you thinking?" I whispered. He didn't answer me, but I felt him shake his head. "Edward?"

"I'm sorry he did that to you," Edward rasped.

"It's not your fault," I assured him.

"Isn't it?"

"No!" I cried, pulling back slightly so that I could look into his eyes. "Don't you dare blame yourself for this, Edward. _I'm _the stupid one. _I'm _the one that went down there. You told me not to and I did it anyway. This is all my fault, not yours."

"I'm supposed to protect you, Bella."

"And you do," I replied, stroking his cheek. He looked so sad. "But you can't protect me all the time. It's impossible." He shook his head as if to say 'that's not good enough'. Alright, it was time to lighten the mood. I couldn't have Edward being a Debbie Downer anymore. "Hey Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Edward grinned and kissed the top of my nose. "You're alright," he whispered. I laughed and pulled him closer, pressing my lips firmly against his.

Edward wasted no time pushing me back against the pillows by my headboard and moving to lie in between my legs. He was kissing my all over and I reveled in the feeling of Edward surrounding me, consuming me.

"Wait." I put my hands up to his chest and he pulled back immediately, but his eyes still danced. Their spark was back.

"What is it?"

"Why are you home so early?"

"We didn't need to be there any longer," he replied, dipping his head to press soft kisses against my neck. My eyes fluttered shut and it was hard for me to pay attention. "I pressed Charlie to make the trip back, even though it was late. The drive isn't too long. And I needed to see you. Alice kept saying that you were fine. But I was worried."

"Alice," I muttered sourly. "So she was in on this too?"

Edward chuckled against my neck and the humming sensation tickled. I squirmed underneath him.

"Not until a few hours ago. I called her and told her, but she assured me that you were okay." I laughed, remembering the premonition that Alice had shared with me yesterday. "What is it?" Edward pulled back to look at me.

"Yesterday, Alice warned me not to punch Jacob Black in the face."

His eyes widened momentarily. "Did you?" I shook my head. "Did you _want _to?" When I nodded, Edward grinned. "That's probably a good thing."

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrows curiously.

"Well no offense, Bella, but you hit like a girl."

I giggled at that. I'd probably punched, hit, and smacked Edward more than I had anyone else. Visions of me 'abusing him' played through my head like a montage.

"Watch it, Cullen," I warned playfully, rolling us so that I was straddling him. "Maybe I've just been holding back this whole time. I wouldn't want to hurt you."

"I'd like to see you try." _Challenge accepted._

I leaned down and kissed him gently. He rested his hands on my sides and I shivered. It wasn't from the cold though. It was all Edward now.

I rocked my hips against him teasingly and he let out a sharp breath, raising an eyebrow at me. I giggled, leaning down to capture his lips again. "Can I welcome you home now?" I whispered, dragging my fingers through his hair.

"I was hoping you would."

**###**

Later, Edward and I lay tangled up in each other under the covers of my bed. I rested my head on his chest as he traced soothing patterns up and down my arm.

"I missed you," I whispered, kissing his collarbone.

"Clearly," Edward replied throatily, chuckling.

"Hey!" I smacked him, but there was no force behind it. He laughed again and kissed my forehead.

"Don't worry, I didn't mind."

I sighed. "You are _so _immature."

He scoffed lightly in response. "You're _really _one to talk, Bella."

"Excuse me?" I lifted my head off of his chest to show him my raised eyebrows. Edward immediately groaned.

"Oh God, I'm retracting that statement. You're not immature at all, Bella. You're a classy, mature, intellectually stimulating woman and you fascinate me," he corrected with a smirk. Clearly, Edward wasn't in the mood to argue with me.

I snorted at this and rolled my eyes. "Nah, I can be pretty immature sometimes," I agreed with a grin. "_Sometimes_."

My cordless phone rang a moment later, startling me. Edward laughed, holding me close.

"Always so jumpy," he said with a grin. "Who is calling you at two o'clock in the morning?"

That was a good question. Only a handful of people had the number for the personal line to my room, and one of them was currently in bed with me. I shrugged, reaching over him to grab the phone off of my nightstand.

"Hello?" I asked, holding the phone up to my ear.

"Bella?"

"Jess? What's wrong?"

She sniffled on the other line. "Can you come get me?" She asked, sobbing.

I sat up quickly, fear pulsing through me. I shouldn't have left her. God, I'm such an _idiot_. "What's wrong? Where are you? What happened?"

I could hear her crying on the other line. "Eric took me back to his house and…and…". She trailed off, crying again.

I felt my eyes burn as terror gripped me. "Jess, what _happened_?" I asked slowly, fearing the worst.

"Nothing! I just…I left and he was so angry and…I don't know where I am. I can't call my parents. All I know is that I'm walking down this fucking street and it's cold and it's creepy and I just want to go home!" She was yelling so loudly that I had to practically hold the phone away from my ear. A fresh round of sobs started as soon as she was done, though.

"Bella?" I turned to look at Edward. His eyes were filled with confusion and slight concern as he reached out a hand to comfort me. "What's wrong?" I held up my hand, signaling him to wait. He sighed impatiently.

"Jess, what street are you on?"

"I don't know!"

"How the hell am I supposed to come _get _you then?" I asked loudly, angry and upset. This was all my fault. I'm a horrible person. Sure, Jess was a shitty friend sometimes, but she was still my _friend _and I just left her at that party with a bunch of assholes.

"Stop yelling at me!" She was getting defensive now.

"Stop yelling at _me_!" Two could play that game.

Edward snatched the phone away from me with a look. "_Both _of you stop yelling! You're being ridiculous."

"Who is that?" I could hear Jessica's voice through the phone, even though Edward was holding it. He brought it up to his ear.

"Jessica, what's the name of the street you're on?" He asked calmly, patiently.

"Who is this?"

"This is Edward."

"Oh." Silence.

"Jessica?"

"Hmm?"

"The street name?"

"Oh! Hang on, hang on. I'm almost to the corner. Umm…it's the corner of Baylor and Irvine." She seemed very pleased with herself for being able to relay that information.

"Alright. Just stay where you are and we'll be there soon, okay? Call Bella's cell phone if anything happens. Don't move."

"I called her cell phone before and she didn't answer," Jessica said suspiciously.

"She'll answer next time," Edward assured her, the corner of his mouth turning up.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay."

Edward pressed the 'end' button and placed the phone back in its cradle, looking at me strangely as he got up and searched for his pants. I followed him slowly, but opted for jeans and a t-shirt instead of my previous outfit. It was too late to be anything even remotely close to stylish. I searched for my phone but quickly realized that I had left my bag downstairs when I'd gotten home and forgotten about it. Well that would explain me not answering…

I waited patiently for Edward as he buckled his belt.

"Where's Charlie?"

"Asleep," he replied confidently, taking my hand and leading me down the hallway. "You can explain all of this to me when we get to the car."

_Splendid. _

###

**A/N: **Was that an awkward place to end it? Sorry. Stuff actually starts going down next chapter, so get excited for that. I'm sorry if this story seems like it's going slowly and you're confused as to the direction it's going to take, I've just been trying to build foundations and all that jazz. I promise some excitement in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!


	8. Seven

**A/N:** Like I said before, stuff actually starts going down in this chapter. So get excited. The 'action' part of this story starts right now. Hope you guys like it!

**###**

I made it successfully to Edward's car without confrontation. In fact, it wasn't until we were pulling out of the driveway that he finally turned on me.

"Do you want to explain what's happening?"

"No."

"Let me rephrase that –"

"This is all my fault," I said hurriedly, cutting him off. "I shouldn't have just left Jess there, but I was so upset. I had to leave." I didn't really want to explain the finer points of my conversation with Jacob Black, but Edward seemed bound and determined to get it out of me.

"What do you mean you 'had to leave'?" He glanced over at me quizzically.

"Jacob Black's an ass," I deflected. "I already told you – he just said some things that kind of upset me, but it doesn't matter." Edward eyed me warily; I could tell that he didn't want to let it go.

"Bella," he said sternly.

"What, Edward? What do you want me to say? Do you want me to lie? It all comes down to the fact that I have no idea what goes on behind closed doors at Swan Corp. I can try and fool people into thinking it doesn't bother me, but I can't fool myself. Or Jacob Black for some reason. It _does _bother me, but there's not a lot I can do about it. No one will ever tell me anything."

Edward let out a frustrated sigh and raked a hand through his messy hair as we sped along through the darkness. I hadn't wanted to upset him, but it seemed inevitable. I couldn't just sit by and pretend that everything was okay.

"That's beside the point," I said quickly, not wanting to get into this right now. "Jess is out there alone somewhere because I left her with that asshat Eric Yorkie."

"Eric Yorkie?" Edward questioned, confused.

"Yes he's…he's just a jerk. And I _left _her there with him. God, I'm a terrible friend."

"Bella, this isn't your fault," Edward said softly. "You're Jessica's friend, not her personal bodyguard. You can't take the blame for her bad decisions."

Edward was always too rational. "True," I said slowly. "But I still feel bad," I decided after a moment.

"Well you're human, of course you feel bad. It's only natural. But it's really not your fault. And I'm sure Jessica is fine. We'll be there in five minutes."

"How do you know where we're going anyway?"

Edward smirked and tapped the side of his head. "Built-in GPS," he said smugly.

"Of course." I rolled my eyes. Edward and Charlie knew this city and its outlying areas like the backs of their hands – they had to. I should have known that Edward would know exactly where these obscure streets were.

A few minutes later we were at the corner of Baylor and Irvine. I saw Jessica sitting on the curb and was immediately wracked with guilt once again. She looked so small and vulnerable.

I jumped out of the car as soon as Edward pulled to a stop. "Jess!" I exclaimed, running to her and pulling her into a hug.

"Thank God you came!" Jess hugged me tightly.

I noticed that Edward stayed obediently in the car and silently thanked him. His presence might make Jess a little uncomfortable, especially considering the circumstances.

"Jess," I murmured softly, sitting down on the curb beside her. "What happened?"

Jessica pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. "I'm such an idiot, Bella."

"Don't say that." I wiped her tears away and rubbed her back in what I hoped was a soothing gesture.

"No, this time I really am," she assured me. "I drank too much and I just trusted Eric to drive me home. He even told me that he was going to take me back to his house – that his parents were out of town. But I didn't think anything of it. I just let him whisk me off – I didn't even find Mike to tell him that I was leaving. And then when we got back to his house…". Jess trailed off and sniffled. I waited patiently for a while before I couldn't take her silence anymore.

"Did he…he didn't….did he?"

"No! We got into a fight. He tried to, but I told him 'no'. I said I didn't want to go that far with him. I barely know the guy for Christ's sake. And then he told me to stop being a prude and I yelled at him. I was screaming at him and then he grabbed me." She choked on her words before continuing. "Nothing big, but it scared me. He looked more surprised by himself than even I was. He let go right after that but I didn't give him a chance to explain. I just left. That's when I called you."

Jess let out a huff of breath before resting her chin on her knees.

"What an asshole," I murmured.

"I know, right?" Then Jess surprised me by actually smiling. It was small, but it was there.

"Well I'm glad you're okay," I told her. "Physically, at least. I'm glad that he didn't hurt you."

Jess nodded in agreement and wiped at her eyes. "Yeah, me too. Thanks for coming to get me. I hope I didn't interrupt anything…". Her eyes sparkled.

I waved her off. "_No_, you didn't interrupt anything."

Jess smiled again and a moment later we both looked up at the sound of the car door opening. Edward came to stand before us. "Are you alright, Jessica?" He actually looked concerned. My heart swelled.

"Yes," she replied, looking up at him with a smile. "Thank you for coming to get me."

"Not a problem," Edward assured her. He helped us both up and Jess got into the back seat before I settled into the passenger one. Edward closed my door for me and slowly walked around the car.

Jessica rattled off her address and Edward nodded before speeding away from the curb. We drove in comfortable silence for a while and it was actually relaxing. I almost fell asleep to the soft hum of the engine, the blanket of darkness outside, and the warmth of Edward's hand on mine.

We dropped Jessica off and I gave her specific instructions to call me the next morning. As soon as she was through her front door, I turned and threw my arms around Edward. He was surprised, but immediately held me close.

"I love you," I murmured into his shoulder. "Thank you for being so amazing."

"Anytime." He chuckled. "What brought this on?"

I shrugged, releasing him and settling back into my own seat. "You were just so great with Jess…thank you."

"You're welcome. It was more for you than for Jessica, though. I can't take all that credit."

I smiled and part of me was happy about that.

After a moment of silence I began to regale Edward with more about my week, since we hadn't had much alone time lately. He listened patiently, actually seeming to enjoy the completely non-regale-worthy activities of my past few days.

I was half way through my fire drill story when Edward's entire demeanor changed. He stiffened in his seat, gripped the wheel until his knuckles turned white, and his face looked livid. His eyes kept flashing between the rearview mirror and the road.

"Edward?" I asked, trying to stay calm. He didn't answer me, but the needle on the speedometer continued to climb. "Edward, what's wrong?"

"Do you see that car behind us?" I began turning to look. "Don't turn around!" I snapped forward, gripping my seat tightly. "Just look in the mirror." I did as he instructed and there was, in fact, a car about twenty feet behind us.

"Yes, what about it?"

"That car has been following us for fifteen minutes," Edward explained tersely.

"So?"

"_So_, I've been speeding up, slowing down, making turns without signaling but he's still following us." My heart rate began to speed up as I realized that Edward was actually upset about this. It took a lot to shake him.

"Who is it?"

"I don't know," he spat, making a quick left turn that nearly smacked my head against the window. "Sorry." He didn't sound sorry, but I didn't hold it against him. Glancing in the mirror again, I saw that the car was still there.

"Who do you _think _it might be?"

"I don't know Bella!" He yelled, making a sharp right turn this time. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. It just _pisses _me off a little bit to have you in such a compromising position."

"It's okay," I said calmly. "We just have to think about this rationally." Since when was I so logical? "Who could it be, Edward? Think."

Edward shook his head, annoyed. Were my questions annoying him? I was only trying to be helpful. His attitude was starting to piss me off, but I took a deep breath. Now was not the time to pick a fight with him. He'd probably snap if I kept pushing. I decided to take the self-preservation route and just be quiet.

We were going nearly one hundred and twenty miles per hour. The only light around was coming from the console. Squinting my eyes, I tried to make out figures in the darkness. Where _were _we?

"Bella, get down," Edward said quickly.

"What?"

"Just get down! Now!"

I was shaking, but did as I was told. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I quickly ducked my head down under the dash and attempted to make myself as small as possible. Straining my ears, I could hear the car behind us getting closer and closer. Suddenly the roar of its engine was coming from my left. He – or she – was driving right beside us.

A strange sound rumbled through Edward's chest. Did he actually just _growl_?

I heard the sound of a car passing us, but it was another full minute until Edward finally spoke. I counted the seconds as my neck began to cramp.

"Okay, you can sit up. It's alright now." It sounded like Edward had to make a conscious effort to control his voice.

I buckled myself back in and nearly gasped when I looked up at Edward. He was holding a gun. The only other time I'd seen Edward with a gun was a few days ago, but even so, that was at a shooting range. This was for real. Seeing him hold a gun like that only reminded me of who he truly was…what he truly was.

"What happened?" I barely managed to keep my voice from trembling.

"He passed us," Edward replied, tucking the gun into his waistband. "But he didn't see you – that's the important part."

"Did you recognize him?" Edward chose not to answer that question and I frowned. Suddenly he whipped out his shiny black cell phone and flipped it open. "Who are you calling?"

"Your father," he informed me brusquely. I bristled.

"Charlie," Edward said after a moment. "There's a situation. I'll be there in twenty minutes. Bella is with me – she's fine, everything is fine. I'll explain when I get there." He flipped it shut.

I gaped at him. "You just…why did you…what?"

"Bella, we're going to have to lie to your father…slightly," Edward said firmly. He paused for a moment, thinking. "Alright, this is the new story: Jessica called you to come pick her up – she was upset. And you called me because you didn't want to drive there alone. That would be dangerous."

"Right," I said with a nod, catching his drift. "That would be far, far too dangerous. And being the gentleman you are, of course you agreed."

Edward nodded. "But besides that, the story remains the same, got it?"

"Got it." I felt like I should salute or something. I didn't. "Will he be angry?"

"I don't think so, but it's hard to tell. He hates whenever you get involved – we have that in common – but I'm hoping that we'll make him see reason. And that man, whoever he was, didn't actually see you. So we have that playing to our advantage." Edward spoke swiftly, maneuvering through the winding Seattle streets with ease.

I couldn't shake the gnawing feeling that Edward was hiding something from me. I couldn't be sure about it, but something in his demeanor tipped me off that he wasn't being entire truthful. I had no proof though, and I had to trust him.

"Everything will be okay, right?" I wanted him to lie to me if he had to. Just lie to me.

"Right."

###

Edward skidded to a stop in front of my house and practically dragged me inside. He pulled me down the hall towards Charlie's study. I balked.

"I'm not supposed to go in there," I blurted, accustomed to avoiding that room. I can count the number of times I've been inside it on one finger.

Edward rolled his eyes but continued to tow me along. "Believe me, he'll make an exception. And while I don't doubt your ability to handle yourself, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Edward held his thumb to a sensor and typed a code into the keypad before a soft beep sounded and he opened the door, pushing me through before him. I heard the thick wooden door click shut behind us.

Charlie sat behind a large mahogany desk; Emmett and Jasper were in chairs behind him. He stood up looking less-than-pleased. "I want an explanation _now_."

I gulped, but tried to remain confident. Edward and I slowly ran through our edited version of what had happened, going into more detail when Charlie asked for it.

"He didn't see her though," Edward assured my father for the third time. Charlie had come around the large desk and was leaning back against the top of it. Edward and I stood across from him, side-by-side, but not touching.

"Who was it?" Charlie asked, his brown eyes locked in on Edward.

"I didn't recognize him, but he seemed to recognize me."

"That car is brand new," Emmett observed. "They must have been here for awhile then."

"That's enough, Emmett," Charlie said loudly.

His eyes settled on me and they softened. "Bella, are you alright?" I nodded and he opened his arms to me. I walked into his embrace, holding him tightly. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Dad." I mumbled into his shoulder, attempting to reassure him.

"If only that were true." He sighed and released me, but held me at arm's length, seeming to inspect me for damage. "You're sure that you're alright?" I nodded again. "Then why don't you head on to bed?"

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. I nodded slowly, keeping eye contact with my father as I backed away. When I turned to leave, however, Edward grabbed my wrist. "I don't know if that's the best idea, Charlie." I shook my head at him infinitesimally, but he ignored me.

Charlie seemed surprised as well. I turned to look at him as his eyebrows shot up. "What are you suggesting?"

"I just think it would be…safer…if Bella remained in here with us. For now."

"Edward, this house is equipped with a top-of-the-line security system. I would never be so foolish as to leave my own daughter unprotected." Charlie sounded a bit more miffed than angry. As if Edward was trying to insult his parenting skills with his suggestion.

"I know that, Charlie," Edward replied icily, finally releasing my wrist. "But for peace of mind."

Charlie shook his head. "I don't want her hearing this."

Something inside me seemed to snap and I whirled around to face my father. The hours upon hours of worrying were too much and I just couldn't take it anymore. "That's enough, Dad." Everyone's eyes were immediately on me. "I think I deserve to be treated a little bit less like a child, don't you? I am legally an adult, after all. I know what it is that you do; I'm not naïve. I may not know _everything_, but I know enough. And the fact that you're still trying to keep me in the dark even after all this time is…well it's insulting, really. You all leave without a second thought, don't tell me where you're going, lie to me about where you actually _are_, and I'm sick and tired of it. Just tell me the truth, Dad. For once just tell me. Being the only one in the dark is infinitely worse than knowing what's actually going on. I'd rather be scared than ignorant." I was so worked up by the end of my tirade that I almost felt like punching something, but refrained. My breath was coming in loud gasps, shoulders heaving as I stared Charlie down.

I saw the corner of Edward's mouth twitch, but managed to keep my eyes locked on my father. He was waging wars internally. We all waited, silently, for his decision.

Finally, he let out a huff. "You're just as stubborn as your mother was. Go sit down before I change my mind. But Bella? I'm not happy about this." I hadn't expected him to be.

I quickly made my way towards one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. Charlie went to sit in his chair and Edward leaned back against the blue wall to my right.

Jasper walked over to the wall on the other side of the room and pressed a button, which revealed a large flatscreen television. A keyboard flipped out of the wall beside it and Jasper began tapping away. As the screen came to life I realized that it wasn't a television at all, but a computer. Different databases began popping up all over the screen and thousands of names scrolled by. I couldn't keep it up with it all.

"Edward," Charlie said sharply. "Who was it?"

"My best guess would be one of Nadhir's men. He's got motive and we know his men are in the country." I wracked my brain, but the name 'Nadhir' was an unfamiliar one to me. The last client that I remembered Edward telling me about was some prince from Saudi Arabia. Maybe Nadhir and that client were one and the same.

"Dammit." Charlie slammed his hand down onto his desk. "I should have known this would come back to bite us in the ass."

"I never liked that guy," Emmett chimed in. Edward eyed him warily.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Always so helpful Emmett. Jasper," he said, turning to face the screen. "Get me all of the information you can on Nadhir's men. I want to know who's in the country. I want to know what we're dealing with."

Jasper shared a pointed look with Edward before answering my father. "I know, I know, I'm trying," Jasper grumbled, pounding on the keyboard. "It's easier said than done, though, Charlie. You need to give me a few minutes."

Charlie turned back to Edward. "What did he look like?"

Edward shrugged; Jasper's eyes were trained on him as he typed away. "Mid-thirties maybe, bald, brown eyes, tanned skin. Wide nose. Other than that he was pretty non-descript. Black car – probably a rental. The inside was immaculate."

"Jasper check all of the car rental places in and around Seattle for –"

"I'm on it, Charlie."

My head continued to whip back and forth between Charlie and Jasper. Looking at the screen gave me a headache, though. The names were scrolling by too quickly.

"We never should have gone to Saudi, we never should have gotten involved with him," Charlie said, shaking his head as he stared at the ground. "It was too much too fast. His eagerness should have alerted us to ulterior motives. And his men didn't refuse the order because it was too expensive – it wasn't much more than they were planning on paying." I could practically _see _the wheels turning in Charlie's head as he tried to sort all of this out.

"But they still paid it," Emmett pointed out.

"Saudi Arabia?" I asked stupidly. "I thought you were in Las Vegas?" Charlie shot me a guilty look, but ignored me other than that. Another lie. _Shocking_.

"Yes but we had to go over there," Edward said quickly. "He knew, Charlie. He knew that you would bring your core group of men leaving this…all of this essentially unprotected." Edward caught my gaze and his eyes widened before looking at Charlie. "He didn't have us go over there because there was a problem with the order. He had us go over there so that we wouldn't be _here_…while he was."

"No," Charlie replied tersely. "No that's…that's not possible."

"Charlie think rationally," Emmett said slowly. "It's completely possible. It's…brilliant."

"Bella." I whipped around upon hearing my name. Edward startled me. He was crouching beside my chair, his eyes deadly serious. "Did you notice anything abnormal during our absence? Anything at all?"

Yes, my hyper-anxiety, maybe? I shook my head infinitesimally, staring at the floor in an attempt to remember. "No I don't think…". Suddenly an image flashed into my mind. The gardener with the ladder. I knew that I didn't recognize him. He was filling in for our usual gardener, Paulo, who was 'sick'. My eyes widened at the realization and I gasped.

"Bella?" Edward touched my arm lightly, encouragingly.

"Charlie," Jasper said loudly, calling attention to himself. "These three men flew into Sea-Tac two weeks ago and rented two cars. One was a navy blue Mercedes-Benz. Abdul-Hakim, Imran Lahab, and Khair al Din."

I slowly turned towards the screen, dreading what I would see. Lifting my head, Abdul-Hakim's eyes burned into mine; the familiarity was sickening. He was no gardener. "That man," I whispered, pointing a shaky figure at the screen.

"Who?" Edward whispered, urging me gently.

"Abdul-Hakim…he was here."

"He was _here_?" Charlie roared, storming over to stand in front of me, and shoving Edward out of the way. "What do you mean he was here, Bella? When?"

I swallowed, attempting to quell the panic that was bubbling within me. Panicking wouldn't solve anything. "While you were gone he…he was here. He said that he was filling in for Paulo."

"Paulo from Rini's Landscaping?" Charlie asked. I nodded. "Well they're fired."

"But why?" Emmett asked to no one in particular. "He was here at your house days ago, sure. But what for? What was he looking for?"

"He was scoping the place out probably," Edward suggested, beginning to pace. "Checking out the security systems, trying to find weak points. And now he knows, Charlie." He looked at my father pointedly.

"Knows what?" I asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. They seemed to be engaged in some kind of wordless argument. I repeated the question.

"Now he knows all the entrances and exits, where the cameras and motion detectors are. He knows way too much," Jasper explained, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Bella," Charlie said, finally tearing his gaze away from Edward. "I want you to go pack a bag. Quickly. Just the bare essentials. Edward, meet me in ten minutes." I nodded quickly and stood up to leave. Edward was by my side in seconds, taking a hold of my upper arm and guiding me out of the room.

"Edward, what's going on?"

"We're getting you out of here," he replied tersely, quickening his pace as we rounded corners.

"Well I can see_ that_, but where, exactly, are we going?"

"We'll sort out all of the details once you're out of the house, but for now, Bella," he swung open the door to my room roughly and let go of my arm. "Please just do what your father tells you."

"Alright, alright," I grumbled, grabbing an old sports bag from under my bed and beginning to empty various contents out of my dresser. It's difficult to pack when you have no idea where you're going or how long you'll be gone. I simply packed as much as I could. After making one quick trip to the bathroom for toiletries I quickly zipped the bag shut, pulling a hooded Huxley Academy sweatshirt over my head as I stood.

Edward had been pacing the entire time. Typical. "Are you finished?" I nodded. "Come on then." He grabbed my hand again and practically dragged me out of the room. He surprised me by not heading back to Charlie's office, but instead quickly descending the grand spiral staircase that led to the marble foyer and darting towards the front door.

"Edward, where –"

"Just come on," he said quickly, ripping open the front door and rushing across the stone pathway to the circular drive in front of my house. Emmett, Jasper, and Charlie were already there along with more men that I vaguely recognized. James was among them and he was speaking to my father in hushed tones, their heads bent towards each other.

"Gibbs, Peter," Edward said loudly. Two men made their way forward quickly and Edward came to a halt before them as Charlie and James walked over to us. Edward looked at Charlie questioningly.

My father spoke without missing a beat. "Take her to my private hangar. One of my pilots should be there waiting. I will be there twenty minutes after you arrive. If I'm not, you go. Do you understand?"

My eyes widened at my father's words. I spoke without thinking. "No, Dad!" I grabbed onto the lapels of his jacket as he went to turn away. "I-I can't leave without you, what are you talking about?"

"Bella," he said softly, gently prying my fingers off of him. "You need to do as I tell you, for your own good. Now please, go with Gibbs and Peter. They're good men, you can trust them."

"No, I –"

"Bella." This time it was not my father that spoke, but Edward. His hand gripped my shoulder lightly and I turned to face him. My stomach dropped at the thought of leaving him. "You need to do this. Staying with us will only make things more dangerous for your father. He needs to know that you're safe so that he can take care of this."

"Take care of this? Take care of what? Why won't you tell me what's going on?"

"Gibbs and Peter will give you a better explanation. There's no time now. You need to go," Edward's words were soft but urgent.

With a sigh I turned back to my father, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. He returned my bear hug and kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Bella. Everything will be alright."

I nodded into his shoulder and he released me a moment later before turning back to James. Edward followed me over to the car and opened the door for me.

"What about you?" I whispered, looking up at him and begging myself not to cry.

Edward looked around uneasily, clearly trying to judge what was the appropriate amount of emotion to show. "I'm going with your father," he said finally. I nodded, unsurprised. I had expected as much. "Bella, get in the car." He reached down and took my hand, squeezing it gently. "Please."

Edward's eyes were apologetic and I didn't understand why. What did he have to be sorry for? None of this was his fault. I wanted more than anything to jump into his arms, but I couldn't do that. Not here, not in front of everyone – especially Charlie.

I couldn't bring myself to leave him though. I shook my head infinitesimally, swallowing the lump in my throat. Edward's emerald eyes burned into mine.

"Bella, you have to. It's the only way I can protect you," he pressed, squeezing my hand tightly. God, leaving Edward was so much harder than I ever thought it would be. The uncertainty of it all made me sick to my stomach.

If I was going to do this, it had to be quick. Like ripping off a band-aid. Without another word, I turned away and ducked into the black Mercedes Benz. Once I was inside, Edward quickly shut the door behind me. I wrapped my arms around my torso in an effort to hold myself together because it felt like I was falling apart. _Everything _was falling apart.

###

**Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!**


	9. Eight

**A/N: **Hey there! Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing. As always, I'm glad that people are enjoying my story. Side note: I'm updating this while watching The Challenge: Rivals. Does anyone else have the same weakness for trashy reality TV as I do? Or a crush on TJ Lavin? Ah whatevs. I'm not ashamed.

Enjoy!

**###**

I stared at the receding dark figures outside my house as Gibbs sped down the driveway. He and Peter were in the front seats. I placed my hand on the sports bag to my left, fingering the straps gently. With a sigh, I let my head fall back against the black leather seat. "Please somebody tell me what the hell is going on."

Gibbs chuckled lightly. "Well since you said please…we need to get you out of the house. There's no telling how much Nadhir's men know about it. They know too much as it is. Also, they could have been _in _the house while we were gone. I mean that's a worst case scenario, but it's possible." It made my skin crawl thinking about that man inside my house while I was home. "Charlie wants you as far away as possible so that he knows you're safe. Once you're out of harm's way he's going to deal with Nadhir."

"What?" I was slightly confused about that last part. "But I thought he was going to try and meet us at the hangar?" My query was met with silence at first, before Peter cleared his throat. "He was never planning on meeting us was he?" Silence again. "Son of a bitch!"

"He couldn't tell you, Bella," Peter said at last.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because he knew you would react this way."

"And what the _hell _is that supposed to mean?"

"Bella!"

"Oh. You mean he knew I'd be pissed?"

"Precisely." Peter sighed, turning around in the passenger seat to face me. "He knew you wouldn't get in the car if you knew there was no chance that he was coming with you."

I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the clock on the console. 3:00 AM. I should have been tired, but my mind was racing. "Well he still should have told me," I mumbled grumpily, looking out the window at the streetlamps that whizzed by. It was practically deserted on the highway due to the time. The stress seemed to physically weigh on my shoulders. I couldn't even comprehend all of the things that could go wrong in this situation. If anything happened to my father or Edward…

I looked up at the windshield just in time to see a car parked on the shoulder about fifty feet ahead explode. Gibbs slammed on the brakes and the seatbelt dug into my shoulder as my body was propelled forward. The car had been thrown directly in front of us from the force of the blast, although it now resembled a large fireball rather than an actual car.

"Shit!" Peter shouted as he whipped out two handguns. Gibbs followed suit. My heart felt like it was about to pound out of my chest and I could feel a bruise forming on my shoulder from the seatbelt. I unbuckled it and winced as I moved my shoulder. My neck ached from the whiplash. "Bella are you okay?"

"I'm peachy," I mumbled, rubbing my neck and practically pressing my face against the window in an attempt to see outside better.

"What the fuck was that?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Peter said firmly. "Stay here with Bella." He quickly exited the car, letting the door click shut behind him. I watched as he slowly made his way around the burning car, guns held at the ready. A shot rang out and a moment later Peter's body crumpled to the ground. I screamed, unable to help myself as panic coursed through my body.

Gibbs whipped out his cell phone and pressed a button before holding it to his ear and he slammed a fist down onto the door lock button. "Charlie, we're in trouble. There's –" Another gunshot rang out and Gibbs slumped over, dead at the wheel with a bullet through his right temple. I screamed again, absolutely terrified. There was a circular hole in the windshield, showing where the bullet had come from. I whipped around to squint at the woods on my right. I couldn't see anything; it was too dark. Suddenly I remembered the cell phone, which had fallen onto the passenger seat. Grabbing it, I crouched into the space between the front and back seats, attempting to block myself from view. I could hear my father shouting on the other line.

"Dad?" I whispered, my voice shaking.

"Bella! Thank God. What the hell is happening?"

"I-I don't know. There was an explosion and then they killed Peter a-and Gibbs." I couldn't control the sob that bubbled up from my throat. A tear trickled down my left cheek. "I'm scared, Dad."

I could hear shouting in the background. "Bella, I need you to stay calm. Where are you?"

Before I could reply, more gunshots rang out and the window above my head shattered, glass raining down around me. I screamed again.

"Bella!" Charlie's voice echoed in my ear as a hand reached inside and unlocked the door before wrenching it open. I looked up and found myself face-to-face with Abdul-Hakim.

"It's him!" I screamed into the phone before Abdul-Hakim grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me out of the car, ripping the phone out of my hand and throwing it onto the pavement where it promptly shattered.

He shouted something in Arabic as he walked away from the car, pulling me along behind him.

"Let go of me!" I shouted back, clawing at his hand. He stopped and rounded on me, pointing a gun at my face. I didn't need to understand Arabic to know what he meant. I held my hands up in surrender; panic fully encompassing me.

He repeated the words before continuing to drag me down the highway. "Imran!" Moments later another man joined us, shouldering a sniper rifle. I recognized him as one of Nadhir's men – his face bad been on my father's computer screen earlier. They exchanged words quickly and I looked back and forth between the men. Imran whipped out a cell phone and dialed quickly. He began speaking in rapid Arabic to whoever was on the other line. Moments later a car sped down the road and came to a screeching halt in front of us. A third man stepped out of the driver's seat – none other than Khair al Din. He grabbed me roughly and all but threw me into the back seat of the car. Hakim slid in beside me and I heard the front doors open and close before the car began speeding down the highway, away from the fiery, bloody scene.

"What do you want?" I managed to say after a few minutes. Hakim chuckled beside me and the other two men laughed along with him. "Do you even understand English?" Silence. "I'll take that s a 'no'. Then I guess I could say whatever the hell I wanted and you would be clueless. Bathtub chicken dinosaur soup?" There was silence for a moment before Hakim turned to face me.

"Just because we choose not to answer you does not mean that we do not understand, girl." His English was thick with an Arabic accent.

"What do you want?" I repeated, attempting to look confident. I don't think I was successful because Hakim smirked again before turning to look out the window.

"Your father is a very powerful man, Bella Swan." I shuddered at the sound of my name coming from his lips. "The Swan Corporation is a…well-oiled façade. I do not know how much your father tells you about what he does." He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly. I stuck my chin out, but remained silent. Hakim chuckled again. "This toughness that you are attempting to show amuses me…reminiscent of an angry kitten." The look on my face caused him to laugh again. "You are enjoyable to be around, I can see why Edward Cullen has taken such a liking to you."

My eyes widened as my stomach dropped. I felt as though I might be sick all over Hakim's lap.

"Ah, you wonder how I know this," Hakim said with a smile, motioning to his forehead. "I shall not reveal my hand yet, but it causes me to wonder…if your father is as keen as I am?"

"Edward has nothing to do with this," I said at last, sharpening my eyes at the man sitting beside me.

"On the contrary, Miss Swan, Edward has _everything_ to do with this."

"Where are you taking me?" I wanted off this topic of conversation. The less that Hakim knew about my relationship with Edward, the better. The thought that he knew anything at all disturbed me.

"I'll acknowledge that I know exactly what you are doing before I move on. Just because English is not my native language does not mean I am ignorant to its mannerisms," he said sharply, eyeing me confidently. "We are taking you to Nadhir's private jet. Located at a small landing strip just outside of the city."

"A-A landing strip? What for?"

"Surely you are not that stupid." Hakim frowned at me.

I sighed and crushed my palms into my eyes. The thought of leaving Seattle had not occurred to me. Truth be told, I hadn't thought too far ahead. This situation was forcing me to live in the moment. Leaving Seattle scared me. If I left the city, how would Charlie find me? Would I ever see him again? And Edward? The terror choked me. I might never see either of them again. I could feel a lump forming in my throat, but I swore to myself that I would not cry. Showing weakness would be the worst thing I could do at this moment.

I cleared my throat before asking the most important question. "Where are you going to take me?"

"Ah, finally an intelligent question," Hakim said with a smirk. I wanted to slap it right off of his face, but managed to refrain. "Unfortunately it is not one that I can answer."

I sighed in agitation. Of course not. "Well what do you want with me?"

"Your barrage of questions has begun to tire me, Miss Swan. Forgive me." Before I knew what was happening I felt a needle stab into the side of my neck. As I opened my mouth to protest, the world went black.

###

The first thing I took note of as consciousness began to seep back into me was that my throat felt like sandpaper. I coughed and blinked my eyes, desperately trying to bring the world back into focus. A strap pressed into my waist and I rubbed my eyes. I was on what must have been Nadhir's private jet, buckled into a seat across from a very unhappy-looking Imran. He stared at me unblinkingly and I squirmed under his gaze, my body squeaking against the creamy leather seat.

Turning my head to look out the small, oval window, I was surprised to see that it was light outside. I spotted a digital clock on the wall which read 10:00 Central. That must mean that we were still over the continental United States somewhere. That was somewhat comforting.

I turned to look at Imran again. His expression had not changed at all. "Do you think I could get a glass of water?" I rasped out. It almost hurt to talk, my throat was so dry. "Please?" Imran made no move to respond. He simply continued to stare at me. Well, this was frustrating.

"I won't move. I just need a glass of water," I tried again, coughing.

"Imran doesn't speak English," Hakim's voice rang out from behind me and I whipped my head around. He was standing behind my seat, holding a bottle of water out to me. I snatched it away from him and began gulping the water down greedily. "I may have misled you earlier, but I've found that using 'we' instead of 'I' often makes a statement sound much more powerful. My apologies. Or should I say, _our _apologies?" He chuckled at his little joke. I rolled my eyes.

Now that my thirst was quenched, I began to think more about the last things I remembered. My hand flew to my neck, which was sore around the place where Hakim had stabbed me with a needle.

"It was Nembutal," Hakim explained, taking the seat next to Imran. "Nadhir requested that we sedate you before bringing you aboard his plane. For precautionary reasons."

"Yeah because I really could have taken all three of you," I mumbled, taking another swig of water. "What do I look like, a Jujitsu master?"

"I'm sorry?" Hakim shook his head at me with furrowed brows, clearly not understanding the sarcasm.

"Never mind." My knowledge of Jujitsu was, in reality, extremely limited. I didn't feel like explaining the finer points of martial arts or sarcasm, though Hakim could certainly use a lesson on the latter.

"Now that we are in the air, I have permission to inform you of our destination."

My eyes widened as my pulse quickened. The large realm of possibilities scared me.

"I'm assuming you have been to New York City before." I guess as far as perilous destinations go, New York wasn't half bad. At least it was still in the country and they weren't whisking me off to some remote region of the world. I decided to keep Hakim in the dark about my feelings towards this destination and simply nodded. Yes, I had been there before.

"Why New York?" I asked, feigning indifference.

"Nadhir is there," Hakim explained. So I would finally meet this infamous Nadhir? Flashes from my harrowing scene on the highway flew through my mind and served as a reminder that Nadhir was a violent man. His men had killed two of my father's agents without a second thought. Suddenly the fact that I wasn't leaving the States was not nearly as comforting anymore. Sure, I would be in New York City, but that didn't mean that my risks were lessened at all.

"And what does Nadhir want with _me_?" I asked, turning away from the window to look Hakim in the eye. _Please answer me this time_. If he was just going to kill me, I wanted to know.

Hakim crossed his arms and leaned back. "That is a matter that you will have to discuss with him," he said simply.

I sighed. "Is he going to kill me?"

Hakim chuckled. "Not just yet, Miss Swan. But as I said before, that is a matter that you will have to discuss with him."

I turned away from Hakim to look out the window again, not wanting him to see any of my reactions. A few minutes later I heard him get up and walk back to whatever part of the plane he had come from, shutting the door behind him. It was just me and Imran the Talkative again.

Leaning my head back against the seat, I examined the fluffy layer of clouds below us as my mind buzzed. I had no idea what would happen once we landed, but I just had to hope that Charlie would somehow be able to find me.

I'm not sure how much time passed before Imran began snoring. The loud noise startled me at first. He snored worse than Charlie. I turned to look at him and saw that his head had fallen to the right and he was out like a light. It seemed like the opportune time to do something. The only problem was, I didn't know exactly what it was that I should do.

Quietly, I unbuckled the seatbelt and slipped out of my seat. Tiptoeing past Imran, I looked around the plane for anything that might be helpful. That's when I saw it. There was a phone sitting atop a coffee table directly behind the seat I had just been in. It almost seemed too simple. With one last look around, I dropped to my knees and crawled over to the coffee table, crouching beside it. I picked up the phone carefully and held it up to my ear. To my amazement, there was a dial tone. With shaking fingers, I began dialing my father's cell phone number.

I only got through the first five digits before I heard someone begin shouting in Arabic. Before I could even look up, the phone was knocked out of my hands. I fell back onto my elbows and looked up to see a furious Hakim towering over me. He yanked me up by my shoulders and shook me, shouting, what I could only guess, were Arabic expletives.

Reaching his right arm across his chest and over his left shoulder, he slapped me across the face with the back of his hand. My right ear rang as he dropped me and I landed on all fours. Breathing heavily, I opened my eyes and saw drops of my blood falling and staining the creamy white carpet. My bottom lip stung and I held a few fingers up to it. They came away covered with blood.

My hair had fallen around my head like a dark brown wall, shielding me from the rest of the world. I wanted to hide behind it as long as possible. "You stupid girl," Hakim seethed.

I sat up and rocked back on my heels, brushing the hair out of my face. I stared at him blankly and he smirked before whipping around, grabbing the cordless phone cradle, and ripping the cord out of the wall. He turned to face me again and dropped the plastic pieces to the floor, making his point. "Go clean yourself up," he muttered, stalking past me and exiting the room.

I stood up a few moments later and that's when I noticed Imran standing there glaring at me. He mumbled something in Arabic that I couldn't him, I glanced around and spied a toilet through an open door to my left. I swept past him, making it a point to not take my eyes off of the door, which I slammed and locked behind me once I was inside the bathroom.

Flicking on the light, I stood in front of the mirror and appraised myself. My bottom lip was split in the right corner and a trail of blood ran down my chin, smeared from where I had wiped at it.

Placing my hands on the sink, I leaned all of my weight onto my forearms and sighed. I couldn't contain the tightness in my throat anymore and as I swallowed, tears welled in my eyes, trickling down my cheeks. The gravity of the situation weighed on my shoulders and I couldn't keep the emotions locked inside of myself anymore. At least now I could cry in private. I prayed that Charlie would be able to find me; that Edward would be able to save me. But I couldn't silence the voice in my head screaming at me to be realistic. I had to accept that that might not happen. I had to accept that death was a possible outcome.

Perhaps I had been naïve earlier, being snarky with Hakim. He was a vicious man, probably a killer. The cut on my face was a clear reminder that he had no qualms about hurting me. Just because he had tolerated me earlier did not mean he would for much longer. I needed to wise up and get a grip. I could not be immature while dealing with these men.

Tears fell freely now as my thoughts turned to Edward. I might never get to see him again or hold him or tell him how much I loved him. I never said it enough. I'd been cruel and childish towards him recently. I swore to God that I would never do it again if I could just be in his arms one more time. I would do anything to be with him again. What would he do in this situation? Edward would tell me to be strong, but smart. The only problem was that I had no idea what kind of hand I was playing with here. I had no idea what was going on or what these men planned on doing with me. Whatever happened, though, I would go down fighting.

Someone banged on the door, shaking me from my reverie. After wiping my tears away, I quickly grabbed a paper towel and pressed it to my lip before swinging the door open and coming face-to-face with Hakim.

"Women," he muttered, leading me back to my seat. "Always taking so long in the bathroom."

I was tempted to point out that head wounds were notorious for excessive bleeding so, technically, it was his fault. He didn't seem in the mood to be trifled with, however, so I decided to take the more life-preserving course and not say anything at all. I simply sat back down in my seat and stared out the window.

Hakim stood by me for a few more moments, studying me. "So quiet now, Miss Swan? Is everything alright?" I ignored him. He walked away, chuckling to himself. Maybe I had previously underestimated Hakim's knowledge of sarcasm.

An hour later we had landed and Hakim stood, unbuckling my seatbelt for me and pulling me to my feet. He was digging around for something in his pocket as he spoke. "I know I apologized about this before but this time I'm truly not sorry at all." A moment later he pulled out a familiar needle and I balked on instinct, but he was too quick and managed to stab it into my neck. Seconds later, the world dissolved once again.

###

Someone was slapping me. Well, not full-force slapping, but hard enough to be annoying. I drowsily swatted at my attacker, mumbling. My head hurt. I could practically feel the pain coursing its way through my body as I was slowly immersed in consciousness. I blinked my eyes, wincing at the light. I was in a car.

Somehow, I managed to scoot myself up in the leather seat and actually take in my surroundings. It was not just a car, but a stretch limousine. And my favorite person in the world, Hakim, was sitting next to me. Waking up in these situations was becoming all-too familiar. And not in a good way.

"Rise and shine."

I glared at him, mentally taking back what I'd thought earlier. Hakim needed no lessons in sarcasm. In fact, if he could just stop using it altogether that would be dandy.

I ignored his comment, turning to look out the window. It was midday outside; bright and beautiful.

"So you are not even going to acknowledge my presence now? I'm hurt."

I turned to glare at him, blood boiling as I took in his smirking face. I tried to keep the annoyance from my face, but wasn't extremely successful.

"I know you are probably not pleased with me having to sedate you again, but it was for your own good, I assure you," he said, leaning back and crossing his hands behind his head. He was the picture of relaxation.

I couldn't help but respond. "And how the hell do you rationalize that?"

"Well we can't let you see how we operate, Miss Swan."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

He actually had the gall to laugh out loud. "Perhaps I am mistaken and you are not upset about the Nembutol, but my…violent actions on the jet. Hmm?"

I bit my tongue, practically drawing blood. Instinctively, my fingers flew to my split lip and I winced. It was still tender.

"I am not going to apologize," he continued. "If you were more…submissive that would not have happened."

"Well I'm sorry that I don't take too kindly to being kidnapped," I spat, turning to glare at him. I couldn't take it anymore. I could not just let him sit there and insult me. Screw my safety. Hakim simply stared at me for a few seconds with smiling eyes before turning to face forward once again. "So will I get the pleasure of meeting this Nadhir fellow soon?"

"We shall see."

Well that's helpful. I wasn't going to let him get away that easily. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Hakim frowned. A small victory. "I think I prefer your quiet side."

"Tough."

Now he was the one glaring at me. "I honestly don't know why he puts up with you," he mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"You may or may not get the 'pleasure' of meeting Nadhir today, Miss Swan. It is not up to me."

He was trying to change the subject. But I would let him get away with it. I was too desperate for information to do otherwise. "Where's Imran?"

"Driving." It was clear that Hakim was not going to elaborate.

"And what about that other guy? What's-his-face? K…something? I haven't seen him in awhile? Where is he?" It was true. I had not seen him since the explosion. Thinking about it made my heart sink. I had not had the time to fully mull over what had happened back there. Peter and Gibbs…they were both gone. Because of me. I felt a familiar knot begin to form in my throat. They were close friends of my father. I had known them for years. And in a matter of seconds they were just…gone. It wasn't fair.

I swallowed my sadness, unwilling to let Hakim see that I was upset. That would not do any good. Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't heard his answer.

"I'm sorry?"

He sighed in annoyance, as though repeating himself took extreme amounts of effort. "I _said _that that is none of your concern."

Pfft. I shouldn't have even bothered asking him to repeat that. It was, just like so many answers he had given me, completely useless.

Deciding to ignore Hakim for the time being, I turned and looked out the window, taking in my surroundings. We were speeding down a highway on the outskirts of the city, beside the Hudson River. The sky was awash with clouds, but the day was still bright.

I rubbed my eyes, sighing. I was tired, but sleep was an impossibility right now. My mind was racing with too many thoughts. I wished that everything could just slow down for a little while so that I could get my bearings. That would never happen, though. I had to adapt quickly.

Turning my head to stare blankly out the window, I let my thoughts drift to Edward. His smile, his laugh, the way his arms felt around me. Thinking of him relaxed me, for the most part. And it gave me firmer resolve. I would fight; I would do anything to get out of here. I had to see him again – there were no other options. I was not ready to die. I loved him too much to allow that to happen. And Charlie…I shuddered. There were too many things unsaid between us. He deserved to know the truth about me just as I had always longed to know the same about him. There could be nothing left unsaid. I had to see him again.

Rubbing my eyes again, I took further notice of my surroundings. It seemed that we were driving away from the city, though it was still in plain view. We were in a more dilapidated part of the outskirts now, and there were no other cars in sight. The crunch of gravel sounded out at the same time as the bumping began and I realized that we had slowed down quite a bit. I moved closer to the window, straining my neck to see more.

We were surrounded by large, run-down brick warehouses. The limousine was slowly making its way down a row of them. I took in the dirty, broken windows; sides crawling with ivy, areas of the brick stained black with dirt and age.

We made our way past the last warehouse and turned to the right. A building that I could only describe as the "mother-warehouse" came into view. It looked less decrepit than the others and was much larger. The windows were all intact for the most part. This had to be our destination.

The limousine pulled to a stop and I heard the unmistakable sound of a garage door. Chancing a look at Hakim, I saw that he was unbuckling his seatbelt. My heart went into overdrive.

As we pulled into the building, I pressed myself up to the window once again. We were in an expansive room; it must have been used for packaging or something when these warehouses were functioning. Well, when they were functioning for activities that were not illegal.

The room, if it could even be called a room, was surprisingly well-lit. I could see various people moving about, seeming oblivious to our entrance. Imran drove us along slowly. I tried to look out Hakim's window so that I could see the right side of the room, but he was completely obstructing my view.

The limousine spun to the left so that I was now facing the door we had entered through. The large garage door was slowly descending like a modern-day porticullis. It hit the ground with finality, trapping me in and my saviors out.

Suddenly, the engine stopped. I had not realized the comfort that I was drawing from the soft, consistent rumbling until it ceased. Its dormancy sparked my nerves; I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my bloodstream. It was too quiet in this warehouse.

Hakim opened his door and my breathing wavered in trepidation. I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths. He exited the limo and I slowly unbuckled my seatbelt, but remained in my seat.

"Get out." His calm, firm voice drifted into the limo. It was not demanding or urgent, as I had expected it to be; it was simply a statement. His voice was bereft of any emotion. I did not know what to make of that. Slowly, I slid across the leather seat, turning my body so that I could rest my feet on the cement floor. Hakim stuck out his hand to help me, but I ignored it, using my own hands to push me up and out of the limo.

I blinked against the bright, fluorescent lights of the warehouse, allowing my eyes to wander. They drifted magnetically towards the man who stood facing me, about twenty feet away. My breathing halted altogether.

This man was not Nadhir.

**###**

**Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think. I love reviews more than I love TJ Lavin.**


	10. Nine

**A/N: **It's time for shit to get real.

**###**

"Hakim, what the fuck?" Edward's voice rang out, his features turning dark as a frown graced his lips.

My mind was flooded with questions, but I forced them away. I had never felt so relieved in my entire life. Without a second thought, I ran to him, nearly tackling him to the ground. I flung my arms around his neck as his came around me like wrought iron. Pressing my face into his chest, I allowed the tears to fall, unable to stop them now. I realized that I was shaking, but I couldn't control it. Edward was murmuring to me softly in an attempt to calm me down. His hands ran up and down my back soothingly, but my shaking would not cease.

"Shh, Bella, it's alright. I'm here. You're safe. Shh." His words did not make sense to me. Nothing made sense to me. But I could not think about that now. Edward was here.

I pulled back enough so that I could lift my head and look at him. His verdant eyes were wide, but soft. I stared at his lips pointedly. They were on mine a millisecond later. Message received.

I tightened my arms around his neck to the point where I was sure that I had to be choking him, but he didn't complain. I didn't care that my split lip was killing me, shooting pain signals at my brain. That wasn't important right now. I was kissing Edward. He lifted me up so that my toes barely grazed the floor, his arms bearing the brunt of my weight.

Edward pulled back few a moments later, needing air. But he rained kisses down on my face and I couldn't keep the light smile from my lips. He finally set me down and looked me over, the frown returning. He looked behind me, glaring.

"I told you," Edward seethed. "I told you _specifically _that she was not to be harmed. That if she was returned to me in anything other than the perfect condition I left her in –"

"That is true, Mr. Cullen," Hakim said, cutting him off. I turned to face my former captor, my back pressed against Edward's chest, his arm snaking around my waist, holding me there firmly. Hakim was leaning back against the black limousine, picking at his nails and looking bored. "But I do not work for _you_, I work for Nadhir. _He _gave me specific instructions on how to handle her. It is not my fault that they were quite different from yours."

"That's bullshit!" I could feel Edward vibrating with anger. "Nadhir works for _me_. I don't give a rat's ass what he told you."

Hakim simply shrugged as if to say 'not my problem'. "He gave me the Nembutol. He told me to use it."

Suddenly Edward stopped moving altogether, his body turning to stone behind me. Tension filled the air in those few, silent moments. Edward loosened his grip on me so that I took a half-step forward. A second later, he pushed my long hair aside, his fingers ghosting along my sore neck. I shrugged at him, not wanting to be touched there. I could still feel a dull stinging in the two spots where Hakim had stabbed me with a needle.

"You _drugged _her?" Edward roared, stepping around me as he stormed over to Hakim. "I'll kill you," he seethed, latching onto Hakim by the lapels of his jacket and slamming him back against the limo. I flinched at the sound.

"Mr. Cullen," a voice rang out, bringing everything to a halt. I turned to face a new man. He resembled Hakim and was looking dapper in a sleek grey suit; hair combed back nicely. "Please release my brother. Killing him was never part of our negotiations. You got what you wanted." He nodded his head towards me. "In return please do something for me and let him go."

A million questions buzzed in my head. Hakim was this man's _brother_? And what the hell was he talking about? Edward got what he wanted? I was starting to get a headache. I had no idea what in the world was going on.

I turned back to face Edward just in time to see him toss Hakim aside haphazardly before making his way back over to me. "Your brother didn't follow along with the terms of our arrangement, Nadhir," Edward spat, coming to a stop beside me. My eyes widened. This man was Nadhir? I stepped closer to Edward.

Nadhir smirked. "Sorry about that. But we used my means of transportation. There were safety precautions."

"Horseshit. You took advantage of the situation," Edward continued. "You knew it would piss me off. Well, mission accomplished. Are you proud of yourself? Why do you insist on making this more complicated than it already is?"

"It won't happen again," Nadhir assured him smoothly.

"You're damn right it won't!" Edward's voice pierced the air, but the silence that followed was almost more deafening. He sighed in frustration, grabbing my hand and leading me past Nadhir. "Hakim and Imran need to be debriefed," he said over his shoulder. "See to it."

The people that had been standing around us, observing the situation before, now sprung into action, milling about the warehouse as they had been before I got out of the limo.

I tripped over my feet as I followed Edward towards the back of the warehouse. We were headed towards a large brick wall with windows and doors. It looked like the outside of a completely different building, as though this large room had been built onto it.

"Edward," I said at last, unable to control myself any longer. "What's going on?"

He sighed, but did not stop walking. "I'm sorry, Bella. I know how confused and upset you must be right now. I'll explain everything as soon as I can. Please just be patient right now."

Patience had never been my strongpoint. "I'm scared," I said. Because it was true. Edward was here and that fact in itself was comforting. However, I still had no idea what the hell was going on and I was tired of being in the dark. It felt like I was always in the dark about everything. That couldn't continue.

He came to a stop and turned around, putting his hands on my shoulders to maneuver me in front of him. "I know and I'm sorry. Truly I am." He was so sincere that it made me want to cry. "I swear to you that I will explain everything as soon as I can. I won't let anything happen to you."

I nodded, allowing him to lead me away once again. We entered the attached, brick building and immediately began maneuvering down hallways and around corners. I looked around, taking in the clean cuts of the building. It was in much better repair than the warehouse we had come from. Expansive charcoal grey walls, arching white ceilings, and crisp hardwood floors faded together seamlessly.

"Where are we going?" I asked, shuffling along quickly behind Edward.

"My quarters," he replied. His _quarters_? What was this, 17th century England?

"Are we almost –"

I was interrupted by Edward opening a door to our left, yanking me through, and slamming it shut behind him. He locked the deadbolt with finality, leaning back against the door and running hands over his face.

I stood before him for a few moments just staring. Edward looked tired. In fact, I don't think I'd ever seen him this tired. When was the last time he had slept anyways? Suddenly the questions I had forced out of my mind earlier came flooding back. What was Edward even doing here? How did he know Nadhir? Wait, Nadhir _worked _for him? None of this was making any sense. My head hurt. I was starting to get dizzy.

Blinking furiously, I snapped my eyes away from the spot they had fallen to on the floor; locking them with Edward's. We became gunslingers for a moment, simply waiting for the other to make a move. I certainly wasn't going to talk first. He owed _me _an explanation and he knew it.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I quirked an eyebrow at him. That seemed to do it. Edward sighed, pushing himself off the wall. He walked past me and I turned to follow him with my eyes, taking in the rest of the room. The floors and ceiling were the same as the hallway. The walls were the same color as well, except that one of them was replaced with exposed red brick.

The room was rather large, containing bedroom necessities at the far end, but resembling more of an office in the portion where we were standing. I noticed that there were no windows.

Edward had come to a stop in the middle of the room with his back still to me. The quiet tension hung in the air like humidity just before a summer storm. My throat became thick with it.

Finally he turned to face me, though the words out of his mouth were not what I was expecting.

"Why don't you get cleaned up?"

I gaped at him. Seriously? After everything I had just gone through _this _was all that he was giving me. I wanted answers, dammit, not a shower. And furthermore, was he suggesting that I did not currently look breathtaking?

"Edward, " I said sharply, pointedly. He winced at the sound, knowing I was pissed off. But before I could say anything else, he held up his hands as though approaching a wild animal.

"Bella," he said softly, walking towards me. "I know you want answers and I will give them to you, I swear. I just need to handle something right now. Please go take a shower, wind down a little bit, and I will come and find you as soon as I'm able, alright?"

"No! It's not 'alright', Edward. Do you have any idea what I've just _been _through? I don't want a shower, I don't want to 'wind down', and most importantly I don't want you to go anywhere!" I could feel tears stinging my eyes, but I managed to keep them at bay. I was so tired of crying. "Please." The last part came out as a whisper.

Edward crossed the room in two strides and pulled me into his chest, holding me there tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he whispered into my hair. "I promise you I will answer everything. But please do this for me first." He pulled away, staring into my eyes pleadingly. "I need you to do this for me right now."

I sighed in defeat, slumping my shoulders and looking at the ground, ever the sore loser. "Fine," I rasped. "Go."

He kissed me firmly on the forehead before releasing me. "The bathroom is just there," he said, pointing over his left shoulder. "Leave your clothes outside the door and I'll have them washed for you. I'll get you something else to wear while you're in there and leave it on the bed. I shouldn't be gone too long. I'll come back as soon as I can. You must stay here, though. Alright?"

I nodded, refusing to meet his gaze. We stayed like that fore a moment before I swept past him, making my way into the bathroom and slamming the door behind me. I quickly stripped off all of my clothes, cracked the door, and tossed them out before closing it again and clicking the lock into place.

The bathroom was relatively nondescript. It was white. Maybe off-white. Or was the proper term 'eggshell'? I remember Jessica telling me once that there were over two hundred shades of white. That seems excessive to me, but who am I to judge? I made my way over to the shower and, after turning the knob to let the water heat up, walked over to the sink.

Placing my hands on the ledge, I leaned forward and looked up, appraising myself in the mirror. No wonder Edward thought I needed to clean up. My lip was slightly swollen, the area around it marbled with blue and green. My hair was a mess of tangles, my fingers and hands were filthy, and I just looked all-around disheveled.

So I shook off my current worries and concerns, allowing the hot spray to loosen up my muscles and wash away the filmy layer of dirt on my skin. I let myself get lost in the warmth, allowing it to envelope me in a blissfully ignorant bubble.

But all bubbles have to burst eventually. Mine did when the water began to run cold. After turning off the water, I timidly stepped onto the cold floor and wrapped myself in a soft, white terrycloth towel.

Once I was sufficiently dried off, I unlocked the door and peeked into the room. It was empty; the clothes I had thrown onto the floor were gone. I tiptoed over to the bed as though the floor had suddenly turned into Omaha beach on D-Day and was filled with landmines. I did not know the exact reasoning behind my inane covert actions. I simply did not feel comfortable here.

Edward had left me his own clothing to wear and the familiarity was nice. A simple grey T-shirt and navy sweats, but I would take it. The shirt drowned me and I had to roll the pants a few times before they would even consider staying on my waist. But they were damn comfy and I welcomed the familiarity.

I tossed the towel onto the floor and stared at it for a few moments before picking it up and depositing it back on the towel rack inside the bathroom. This place was too neat but I simply couldn't bring myself to try and dirty it up a bit.

Walking back over to the large king-sized bed, I crawled to the center and sat Indian-style, facing the door. It was quiet. I could hear the large analog wall-clock ticking the seconds away. The sound made me anxious. It was 3:30. I was tired, but sleep wasn't an option, not now.

I glared at the thick wooden door, willing it to open. What time had I gotten in the shower? How long had it been since Edward had left? I hadn't even looked at a clock since the limo. Sighing, I rubbed my aching eyes. At least I looked a little bit better. My lip was still slightly swollen, but it would clear up soon. Running a hand through my wet hair, I pulled it over my shoulder, toying with the ends. What exactly did Edward expect me to do while I waited for him?

Suddenly my eyes snapped to the desk at the other end of the room. There were many important-looking papers littered across that desk. My curiosity began to get the best of me and I was just about to scoot off of the bed when a key sounded in the lock at the door.

My heart sputtered and I jumped. Such an irrational reaction. It had to be Edward. And it was.

He entered the room quickly, slamming and locking the door behind him. His eyes immediately found me on the bed and he made his way over, smiling tightly. He came to a stop about two feet from the edge. "Feel better?"

I nodded, sitting up straight. It felt as though someone was squeezing my heart. It hurt so much to sit there and stare at Edward. I needed to touch him. Without warning, I launched myself at him, but he caught me skillfully. Years of practice.

I clutched him to me, my feet dangling as he held on just as tightly. "Please," I whispered. "Please tell me what's going on." I could feel him nodding as he loosened his hold on me. But as soon as his lips were in view, I crushed mine to them, not caring that I was sort of contradicting myself.

He returned the kiss with gusto. This was much better than our warehouse kiss, now that we didn't have an audience and the circumstances were considerably less awkward. His velvet tongue tangled with mine and I moaned at the comforting familiarity. He buried his hands into my wet locks.

After awhile we toned down our intensity and I pressed my lips to his one final time before he set me back down on the ground. He released me save for one hand and led me over to a leather couch near the middle of the room. I sat down on the end of it, folding my feet up underneath me. My eyes followed Edward as he paced in front of me for a few moments. I wanted him to sit down with me, to hold me, but I sensed that he couldn't do that right now. He seemed lost in his thoughts.

"Edward," I said at last. "Whatever it is…you can tell me. You have to tell me."

He nodded, running a hand through his messy hair. "I know that. I'm just trying to figure out how to tell you so that you won't hate me."

"I could never hate you," I assured him.

Edward eyed me warily, as if to say 'don't be so sure'. Finally he sighed, turning to face me formally. "Bella, what you know about your father's business is…far from the truth."

"But I hardly know anything."

"Precisely," he said. "But what you have been _led _to believe is far from the truth. Your father is…engaged in business that is not…well it's not…gah! I don't even know where to start." He pulled at his hair in frustration, allowing a hand to fall to the back of his neck where it stayed as he continued to pace.

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" I suggested, somehow becoming the paradigm of rationality.

Edward nodded, taking a seat at the other end of the couch and turning to face me. "When your grandfather died in 1982, your father inherited The Swan Corporation at a rather young age. He was barely twenty years old and was in way over his head. Unfortunately, the company was going through some…rather difficult financial times. The weapons market was opening up, there were more competitors, and Swan Corp. was losing a lot of money…fast. Your father was young and injudicious. He didn't know what to do. And to his credit, when he did start entering into some shady operations, it was for the good of the company."

"But Edward, I already knew that Charlie was operating outside of the law," I interrupted, clueless as to where this was going.

He held up a hand. "Please let me finish." I nodded, urging him to continue.

"Your father _does _operate outside of the law," he continued. "But I don't think you know the extent. At first he was selling weapons to gangsters and bounty hunters on the black market. Not great folks, but not the worst he could do. He could see the company's profits increasing slightly as he secretly leaked in the extra money, but it wasn't enough. He was honorably building up the company's infrastructure as well, but even with that…he needed something more. There was a larger market he needed to break onto in order to start making 'real money'.

"He branched out overseas…to the Middle East. There was a lot of money to be made over there. Your father began dealing with…terrorists. The guilt was consuming him at first. He was selling weapons to mass murderers, essentially. But he was able to justify it because all he was _really _trying to do was keep his company together and make it profitable. But as time went by and the money began to really roll in, that guilt lessened."

My mind was buzzing; my heart was racing. Terrorists? My father was supporting that? It couldn't be…that just wasn't possible. My father was a good man. He couldn't do such a thing. I shook my head, eyes beseeching Edward.

"No," I whispered. "That's just not…he couldn't have. Edward, you know my father." My voice cracked. "He's just…this can't be true."

The sympathy in his eyes was almost overwhelming. I could not believe this. I knew that my father was operating illegally, but not to this extent. Truth be told, I had never thought over the matter too intently. I was never given enough information to draw any conclusions of my own. Ignorance was forced upon me, yet I still felt guilty.

Edward decided to ignore me at the moment and continued on. "That guilt lessened, Bella, as your father began making more money than he needed to keep Swan Corp. afloat. By the time you were five years old, Swan Corp. was fully functional on its own. It didn't need the excess money from your father's illegal dealings. But he was in too deep. He wanted more…he couldn't help himself.

"You know that my father was very good friends with yours." I nodded. I did know that. "Carlisle is the one who got me really involved in Swan Corp. – with what Charlie does." I nodded again. This, also, was not news to me. "I was able to overlook the…specifics of the job for awhile but it got to be too much. I just couldn't justify our actions. Sure, money pours in, but at what cost? I couldn't justify making millions of dollars at the cost of someone else's life. And then Carlisle died." Edward practically choked on his words and I reached out to him, but my hand fell back to the cushion, untouched.

"I met Nadhir about three years ago, before he became a client of your father's. A family member of his had made a sizeable order and he became curious about our business. While he may be from the Middle East, he is certainly not supportive of the massive amounts of illegal activity that goes on there. We became allies of sorts. Nadhir…listened to me. And, more importantly, he agreed with me.

"After about a year of communication, we decided that we had to do something. We couldn't allow your father's illegal actions to continue. Swan Corp. was perfectly capable of standing on its own two feet. Charlie was irrationally justifying his actions when in reality it was all just…greed. I had to stop it, Bella."

I was shaking at this point; my head was pounding. This was just…too much information. My world was beginning to crumble. I wanted to cover my ears and shout, anything to keep Edward's words at bay. But I couldn't do that. I had to hear the rest of it.

Edward breathed deeply before continuing. "For the past two years, Nadhir and I have been planning to take down the secret, illegal wing of Swan Corp. We're going to stop your father, Bella. We're going to stop all of this."

I sat there soaking in everything that Edward had just told me, but I found myself barely able to believe it. I didn't know what upset me more: the fact that my father had lied to me or the fact that Edward had lied to me. Which was worse? Edward had technically lied about two things: my father's business and his plans to take that business down which had been going on for _years_. But then again my father was dealing with _terrorists_. He was givingthem weapons to attack others, including our own country. It was almost too much to take in. I was speechless.

"Please say something," Edward said at length, staring at me with wide eyes.

"I don't know what to say," I whispered. Charlie's face flashed into my mind. I had flashbacks of being a little girl. Charlie tossing me into the air, playing peak-a-boo, teaching me to ride a bicycle, helping me with my homework, hugging me…he had been the center of my life for so long. That man and the man that Edward had just described to me…there was no way that they could be the same person. It was inconceivable.

"You've been lying to me," I said at last, finally meeting his eyes.

"I had to," Edward replied quickly. "Th-there was no choice, Bella. I'm trying to protect you."

"Save it," I snapped. "I'm sick and tired of being protected. It's gotten me absolutely nowhere. There's a big difference between protection and ignorance." My voice was shaking. "So _don't _say that you were protecting me. Because that's bullshit."

"You don't understand –"

"You're right! I don't fucking understand, Edward. Because up until now, no one has bothered explaining anything to me! At this point, I don't know what's the truth and what's a lie. I've been living a lie my entire life and now I'm finding out that _that _lie is a lie! What the hell am I supposed to think?"

"You have to believe me," he pleaded, reaching for my hand.

I snatched my hands away from him, jumping off the couch as though it had bitten me. "Don't touch me," I seethed. "He is my father, Edward. My _fucking _father and now you're telling me that he's what…a liar? A criminal? Well guess what? I knew that before!"

"Your father is not a good person, Bella!" Edward roared, standing up and facing me. "Yes, we both lied to you but _I'm _the one that's really trying to protect you! _I'm _the one that is trying to end this. Do you have any idea the danger that you're in? That _he _has put you in? Your father deals with dangerous people and by doing that he has put you directly in harm's way. It needs to end and it needs to end now."

"He has been just as much a father to you as he's been to me," I croaked, still enraged. Angry tears pricked at my eyes.

"Even the people that we love can be bad people."

"Evidently." I glared at him.

"Bella," he admonished. He looked down at his feet and sighed in frustration before raking a hand through his hair. I could barely even look at him. A solid minute passed before he spoke again, and when he did, his voice was muted; pained. "My father died because of this, Bella."

I've seen many different sides of Edward in my life. Happy Edward, sad Edward, angry Edward – a _lot _of angry Edward. But this? This was broken Edward, a side that I rarely saw. The only other time I'd seen it was for a few moments after Carlisle's funeral. It was almost too much for me to handle then, but now it was even worse. It was worse now because my heart broke for him, yet hated him at the same time. What was he trying to do to me? Suddenly I was angry. Guilt? Was he trying to make me feel _guilty_?

"What are you trying to say? A father for a father? Is that was this is, Edward? _Your _father died for this, so now you're going to kill mine too? That's sick." I could barely control the shaking at this point. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to scream or cry; hit him or hug him. Both? Neither?

"Dammit, Bella, that's not what I'm saying! I don't want to kill Charlie; I just want to make this right."

I rolled my eyes. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"Well Jasper –"

My breathing halted at the name and I held my hand up to Edward, signaling him to stop speaking. I needed a moment.

"Jasper?" I croaked at last. "He's been in on this too?" Edward nodded hesitantly. "How many other people know? Does Alice?"

"No, no," he assured me quickly. "Just Jasper and Emmett. None of us can justify the money anymore. We haven't been able to for awhile. When we started getting involved with Nadhir –"

"Don't!" I simply shook for a moment, still torn between being furious and being heartbroken. I didn't want to know about the plan. The plan wasn't important to me right now. I had other things on my mind. Too many things; I couldn't sort through it all. "If this is all true then why didn't you tellme? You've known for years and have been planning a mutiny for three of them and you couldn't even _tell _me?"

"I couldn't," he whispered. "You couldn't know. That's why no one ever told you anything. It would be too dangerous for you to know."

"Charlie, I get. Jasper, I get. Emmett, I get. But _you_, Edward? I tell you everything. _Everything_. And you couldn't tell me the most important thing?" Silence permeated the air for a moment before I continued. "Who are you? I feel like I don't even know you anymore."

"I'm the same person I always was, Bella. You do knowme."

I shook my head, allowing the tears to fall of their own free will. There was no stopping them now. "Except that I don't. I don't know you at all. Everything that I thought I knew…Hell, everything that I thought that I _didn't _know…it's all a lie. I don't know if I can trust you. How do I even know you're telling the truth about all of this?"

"Bella, please. You have to trust me."

"I have to do no such thing! Don't you _dare _tell me what I have to do." I pointed a shaking finger at him before lowering it steadily. It honestly felt like my head might explode. Lies…truth…was there even a difference anymore?

"I _am _telling you the truth," he said quietly, evenly. "You need to trust me."

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

I shook my head, taking a step away from him. "Don't tell me that. Please don't tell me that."

"But I do," he continued. "More than anything. I could have walked away three years ago after Carlisle died and the guilt finally consumed me. But I didn't…partly because I felt a responsibility to put and end to it. But more so because of you. I couldn't leave you. I've loved you for a long time, Bella. Probably before you even knew."

I couldn't even look at him. Swiping furiously at my tears, I kept my eyes trained on the floor, studying the wood grains.

"That's why you're here now. Now that this whole plan is going into action…I had to have you with me. I had to make sure you were safe first. And you're safest here…with me…away from Charlie. I…I need you here to remind me of why I'm doing all of this. To remind me why I do anything. You're everything to me, Bella. Everything."

I finally mustered the strength to look at him; my eyes blurry with tears. "I can't right now, Edward. just…I need some time to think about all of this. I need you to leave."

He nodded, but I could see the intense hurt in his eyes, however fleeting it was. "I understand," he whispered. "I'm sorry it's come to this. I'm sorry for a lot of things. For the lies, for what you've gone through, and for what you're feeling now. If I could have prevented any of it, I would have."

I nodded, hearing his words, but not really feeling them. My body only felt numb. "I need to be alone." Without looking at him, I turned and walked over to the bed, crawling towards the center and curling up into a ball. I don't know how long the silence lasted before I heard the door open and close again, lock sliding into place.

I cried for a long time. Hurt, betrayal, anger…they all passed through my body at one point or another. I couldn't remember the five stages of grief, but it felt as though I was going through them. I was mourning the loss of my old life, something that I would never be able to go back to. I almost missed the blissful ignorance. Some say the truth will set you free, but I did not feel that way. It felt as though the truth had stabbed me in the heart. Insert knife here and twist.

I cried because I was crying. And I was so tired of crying. I cried for Edward and what he'd had to go through. And for what I now felt because of it. But most of all I cried for Charlie: the man I'd thought I knew.

I still had so many more questions for Edward, but my head was too jumbled to even begin sorting through them all. I simply laid there, still curled into a tight ball, attempting to shut out the world.

Eventually, overwhelmed with grief and exhaustion, I cried myself to sleep.

**###**

**Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think.**


	11. Ten

**A/N: **Soooo it's been awhile. My only excuse is that I am a real life college student with real life work to do. Poop. Anyways, quick recap: Bella just found out about everything going on with Swan Corp. (aka Charlie deals illegal weaponry to terrorists) and Edward also revealed that he's been lying to her about everything for years. Needless to say, she's kinda pissed.

onwards and upwards.

**###**

I awoke sometime later, feeling completely disoriented. I was still in the middle of the bed, but someone had covered me with a fleece blanket and placed a pillow under my head. Sitting up slowly, my eyes swept over the room. Everything looked exactly the same. The lack of windows made it impossible to tell what time of day it was.

Glancing at the wall clock, I saw that it was about 8:00. But I didn't know if that meant AM or PM. My guess was AM because it felt like I had been sleeping for much longer than simply an hour or two. Reaching my arms over my head, I stretched, loosening up my sore muscles. My entire body ached.

I noticed my clothes, folded neatly on the corner of the bed. Scooting off, I nearly tripped over my shoes on the floor. They had been cleaned as well. I couldn't help but think that that was rather unnecessary, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Without a second thought, I quickly stripped off Edward's clothes and pulled mine on, reveling in the soft texture and the smell of detergent. After wiggling my feet into my sneakers, I stood up and looked around. Everything might have looked the same as yesterday, but I felt completely different. I was renewed and fresh, and I had a firm resolve now. I would not cry again. I was done crying. A stone wall was firmly in place around my heart and I vowed not to let anything shake it. What could possibly hurt me now? My life had been taken from me, in a figurative sense, and I had nothing left to give. So I would find Edward and I would get my answers, though I still didn't know how I was feeling on the Edward front. I wanted to hate him, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do that. He loved me – I knew that for certain. But he had also lied to me and I was sick of people using this 'protection' nonsense as an excuse for lying. That wasn't acceptable anymore. From here on out it was the truth and nothing but the truth. Lies had gotten me nowhere. Edward would have no choice but to be straightforward with me now. Aside from all of that, though, he was still Edward. _My _Edward. And I could never hate him. But I could still be extremely pissed at him, and that was the route I had decided to take.

My stomach growled, breaking the deafening silence in the room. I needed food. I couldn't even remember the last time I had eaten. My body had been too stressed to ask for food before, but now I was ravenous. And I needed caffeine, preferably delivered through an IV, but I would also accept a cup of coffee. I eyed the door speculatively. Edward had told me to stay here, but that was yesterday. Maybe it was okay now? I rolled my eyes, heading towards it. I was doing things on my own terms now and I needed a bagel or I was seriously going to pass out.

Reaching the door, I paused for a moment before finally unlocking the deadbolt, twisting the knob, and stepping out into the hallway. It was deserted. I looked around, unsure of what to do now. Edward and I had come from the right so I knew that that hallway led to the warehouse. I didn't recall seeing any bagels in there. Turning to the left, I began walking down the hallway. An ominous feeling crept into me, but I pushed it away. It would be fine; I would be fine. I had everything under control. Voices began to filter down the hallway and hope filled me. I increased my pace.

Rounding a final corner, I stopped dead in my tracks. The hallway opened up into a control center of sorts. There were desks everywhere and people were milling about. Large TVs lined the walls, which seemed to be a lighter color in this room than in the hallway. The ceiling was also much higher than in the hallways, revealing the second floor through glass walls and a balcony, which led to a spiraling metal staircase.

No one really seemed to take notice of me so I simply stood there, unsure of what to do. But after a minute it became clear that I needed to do _something_. Straightening up, I took a step into the room. I noticed then that the outer walls were also lined with glass doors that led to offices and boardrooms. I was about to set off in search of a kitchen when I felt someone's eyes on me. Snapping my head to the left, I saw Hakim. He was looking at me strangely. Fear instinctually set in, but I did my best to keep it from my face. He slowly made his way over and I jutted my chin out confidently. He couldn't hurt me now.

"Long time, no see, Miss Swan" he said with a smirk, coming to a stop beside me.

"Yes, I've missed you terribly," I replied, crossing my arms defensively.

"And where is Mr. Cullen?"

I shrugged. "Beats me."

"Is he aware that you are wandering around by yourself?" Hakim smirked at this.

"No, but he's not my keeper. I'm free to do what I want." I glared at him challengingly, daring him to say something on the contrary. He didn't. Hakim simply stood there, still smirking. I sighed. "Listen, I know you don't like me – the feeling is mutual, believe me. But can we call a truce for like, thirty seconds?" He didn't say anything, so I continued. "I'm in serious need of sustenance. Is there a kitchen in here?" He stared at me for a few more seconds before walking away and motioning for me to follow. I skipped off after him, looking around as he led me through the room and down another hallway. We wound around a few corners before stepping through a large doorway and into a fully-furnished kitchen. It was larger than the one at my house. Multiple refrigerators, ovens, and various other kitchen gadgets littered the room. I turned, intent on asking Hakim if he knew where the bagels were, but he was gone, leaving me to my own devices.

A digital clock on one of the ovens read 8:30 AM. I had been right. Walking over to the counter, I began opening various cabinets in search of food, finally stumbling upon the one filled with baked goods. Jackpot. Pulling out a bag of blueberry bagels, I undid the twist tie and began preparing my breakfast. After popping my bagel in the toaster, I opened the fridge and almost jumped for joy upon discovering the cream cheese. I was almost done smearing my bagel with it when I was interrupted.

"You scared the shit out of me," Edward's voice sounded from the doorway. I screeched, nearly jumping out of my skin in surprise as I whipped around to face him, slapping a hand over my beating heart.

"_You _scared the shit out of _me_!" I yelled, pointing my cream cheese covered knife at him. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway. My mouth watered, bagel long since forgotten. Edward looked delectable in his dark grey thermal and jeans. I wanted to jump him, but then remembered that I couldn't. I was _mad_. Ignoring him, I turned back to my bagel.

"I get back to the room and you're just _gone_. I had no idea where you were. I've been running around like a maniac for the past ten minutes looking for you," he explained, sounding irritated. "I asked you to stay in the room."

"That is the most complicated coffee maker that I have ever come in contact with," I said, pointing to the contraption on my right. I had decided to ignore his comments. He had been worried? Good. Welcome to my world.

The room was silent before I finally heard Edward chuckle; he was well-acquainted with my caffeine addiction. "I'll make you some," he offered, walking over to it. I guess he had forgiven me for completely disregarding his request to stay in the room. Whatever. I didn't really care either way.

I hopped up onto the opposite counter, tearing into my bagel as I watched him. "Make it strong," I instructed between bites. He nodded, but didn't turn around. This bagel must have been created by God himself because it was the best thing I had ever tasted. I moaned, savoring the cream cheese and blueberry goodness. Edward turned around, raising an eyebrow at me as the coffee perked behind him.

"What? I'm starving," I said defensively, my mouth filled with bagel. Attractive.

"I can see that," Edward replied, leaning back against the counter. I noticed that he looked less tired and wondered where he had slept. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." I wiped my hands on my jeans and cast my plate off to the side, looking away from Edward. We were quiet for a few moments, allowing the sounds of percolating coffee to fill the air. It smelled divine. "I have more questions," I informed him, watching as he searched for a mug.

Edward nodded, pulling one from a cabinet before turning to face me. "I figured you would. I have some time right now. You can ask me anything."

"And you'll tell me the truth?" He nodded. "Good, because I'm done with lies, Edward. They haven't gotten me anywhere. I deserve to know that's really going on."

"I know," he said, pouring my coffee.

"Two sugars and some milk," I instructed, swinging my legs back and forth against the cabinets.

Edward tossed me a disparaging look as he made his way over to the refrigerator. "I know how you like your coffee, Bella."

"Well you never know," I said with a sigh, looking at the ceiling innocently. "Maybe I've been _lying _for the past three years."

"Bella." His voice was stern.

"I'm just saying." I shrugged, refusing to meet his gaze.

He thrust the mug towards me and I accepted, sipping gently at the hot liquid. Mmm. Perfect.

"You said you had questions," Edward said, leaning back against the counter across from me. "So ask them." He folded his arms across his chest.

I hid behind my coffee mug, seeking a few moments of solace as I sorted through the questions in my mind. I wasn't even sure which one I wanted to ask first. What was most important?

"Where's Charlie?" I finally asked, placing my mug on the countertop beside me. I stared at Edward squarely, watching as the wheels turned in his head. It was strange staring that a person that I thought I knew so well with such unfamiliarity.

"At this very moment your father is still in Seattle," Edward explained; his eyes were trained on me, gauging my reaction. "He knows you've been taken but he does not know that you've left the city. He will find that out shortly, though."

"Where does he think _you _are?"

"He thinks I'm in Saudi Arabia. He sent me to the airport as soon as you were gone. However, I had already made other arrangements. I came straight here."

"So the other night – when we went to go get Jessica, all of that stuff, that was all staged?" Edward's silence was all the affirmation that I needed. I went to speak again, but he cut me off.

"Some improvisation was needed – I hadn't expected that we'd need to go gallivanting off to save Jessica, but for the most part, yes, it was all planned out."

"You're a good actor," I said indifferently, taking another sip of my coffee.

Edward fidgeted for a moment before speaking. "When the situation calls for it, yes. I didn't like lying to you, Bella. It was only for your father's benefit. I just needed to get you out of there somehow."

It seemed logical enough, but his cool ability to pull off such a stunt made me uneasy. "When is he going to find out about all of this?"

"Soon and slowly. First, we've arranged for him to discover that you aren't in Seattle anymore, but we've also arranged for some false leads. I need some time before he gets to New York."

I furrowed my brow, needing more clarification. "And who is 'we'?"

"Well I've been working with Nadhir for years and we've acquired a rather large force of people. Some that were originally with him, others that we've hired independently. And some…well, you've known some of them fore awhile. You already know about Jasper and Emmett. I'm not the only member of your father's team that doesn't agree with what he's doing. Emmett, Jasper, and I got to talking years ago and they've always agreed with me. But once you're in that line of business, it's hard to get out. I was the first one to really take action. Once I got things rolling, however, they quickly jumped on board."

My heart sank. More lies. But I brushed them off. Lies couldn't hurt me anymore. They wouldn't surprise me anymore. But suddenly an irrational emotion washed over me. I felt bad for Charlie. All of his closest friends, these people he had surrounded himself with for so many years…they were all stabbing him in the back.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asked.

I shrugged. What was I supposed to think? "I feel bad for Charlie," I admitted at last.

"Don't," Edward said quickly, his shoulders stiffening.

I sank down, dropping my hands onto my lap. "He's my father, Edward. He's always been my father. I can't help it. Everyone that he trusted…"

"It's for the greater good, Bella," Edward explained. "I don't like that it's come down to this, either."

"What are you planning on doing?" I quickly changed the subject, not wanting to go down that path again.

"We've mapped out a step-by-step process through which we're planning on revealing everything to him, starting with the fact that Emmett, Jasper, and I have essentially gone rogue. We're _hoping _to lead him to see the error of his ways, explain things to him, and offer alternatives. We need to convince him that he's fooling himself, that Swan Corp. does not need this."

"And what if he tells you to go screw yourself?" I asked bluntly, because that was definitely a possibility.

"We're prepared for that," he assured me confidently.

"When is he going to find out that I'm with you?"

"Once he finds out that Nadhir and I are working together."

I chuckled sardonically, leaning back and rolling my eyes.

"What?" Edward looked at me quizzically, having absolutely no idea what I could possibly find humorous about this situation.

"I was just thinking that a few days ago my father didn't even know that we were together and now…now I think that's the least of his concerns." It was almost comical. Suddenly I frowned, knowing my reasoning was ridiculous. How could I possibly feel bad about lying to my father now? I shook my head, not wanting to think about it.

Edward was silently appraising me.

"So what do we do now?" I wanted to know, draining my coffee mug and hopping off the counter to refill it.

"Now we wait."

"For how long?" I turned back to face him, sipping my coffee.

"Charlie will find out relatively soon that I'm not in Saudi Arabia; he'll begin his attempts to contact me and I can only stall for so long."

"And when you can't stall anymore?" I prodded him, playing with the sleeves of my sweatshirt.

"Then we'll begin explaining everything to him, we'll let him know you're here, and we'll let him know what we want," Edward explained, still eyeing me suspiciously, as though I might spontaneously combust.

Suddenly something occurred to me, causing a spark of anger to flare up inside my body. "Wait, are you going to use me as some sort of collateral?"

"What?"

"You heard me." The possibility had not occurred to me before, but suddenly it seemed to make sense. Just the thought of it made me numb.

"No, Bella, God no, that's not it at all." He swiftly made his way towards me. "I would never do that." Edward's entire demeanor softened as he stared at me. "You're here so that you can be close to me, so that I can protect you. I need you here."

I couldn't help but feel slightly resentful. "Well did you ever stop to think about what I might want?" Edward didn't say anything. "What if I told you that I wanted to go back to Charlie? What would you say to that?"

Edward's eyes widened and he looked speechless. I was yanking his chain slightly. I was pretty sure that this was where I wanted to be, especially after everything that I had learned in the last few hours. But doubt was weakening my resolve. I still wasn't sure how I really felt about anything. I needed more time.

"Is that truly what you want?" Edward whispered, eyebrows knitting together as he looked down at me.

I caved, unable to cause him that kind of pain. "No, Edward, it's not. I believe you. I don't know if I completely trust you, but I do believe you. Can you just try to understand that this is all kind of hard for me to accept? I mean, everything that I thought…".

"I know," he assured me quickly, taking my hand before I had a chance to pull it away. "I'm sorry if I'm being too blunt with you. I'm trying to be truthful. It's new for me." He was smirking and I felt my insides melting.

"This isn't funny, Edward," I mumbled, swatting at his chest playfully.

"I know," he murmured, pulling me towards him slowly. "I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Yeah, well…don't." Edward was winning me over and he knew it. Damn him. I was trying to be badass and stone cold.

He chuckled. "So stubborn."

I looked up to meet his eyes, planning on insulting him, but his mouth was right there and I just couldn't help myself. He closed the small gap between us, his lips warm and reassuring.

"I love you, Bella," he whispered against my lips. "Never forget that."

My heart ached, but I couldn't day the words back to him. I quickly turned my head to the side and Edward groaned, dropping his head to my shoulder. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I just…I can't, Edward. Not right now. I need more time to process all of this. To figure everything out."

He shook his head lightly; his bronze locks tickled my ear. "It's not your fault, Bella." I felt awful and pulled him closer to me, hugging him tightly. Edward folded me into his chest and pressed gentle kisses to my neck. "I'd do anything for you, Bella. I'm only trying to protect you."

"I know." Edward pulled back to look me in the eye. I could see the sadness in them. He opened his mouth to say something else, but we were interrupted by a ringing voice from the doorway.

"Hello, lovebirds. Sorry to interrupt."

My head snapped to the left and I saw Alice standing there, smiling like The Joker. What surprised me even more was that Jasper was standing right behind her and they both seemed…okay. Maybe even _more _than okay. I was very confused.

"Alice!" I screeched, breaking away from Edward so that I could sprint towards her. She hugged me tightly. I was so glad that she was okay. "What are you doing here?"

Alice danced back to Jasper and linked her fingers through his, only serving to confuse me further. I shot her my best 'what the fuck' eyes, but she was too busy staring up at her blonde beau to notice.

"Honestly Bella," Edward said as he walked up beside me. "Do you really think I'd leave my own sister unprotected?"

"Edward, I've just spoken to Nadhir," Jasper said, quickly changing he subject. "I need to speak with you about something. I think it's about time to start phase two."

"Phase two?" I asked stupidly.

"Well while you boys do that, I need to steal Bella!" Alice announced. With that, she grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the kitchen, dragging me down the hallway behind her. I was too bewildered and confused at that point to protest. "Where can we speak in _private_?"

"Edward's quarters," I replied absently. "I'll show you."

"His _quarters_?" She stifled a laugh at the ancient term.

"Don't even start, Alice."

We made our way down the halls and into the room without hassle. I locked the door behind us and Alice proceeded to jump around excitedly. Her antics were beginning to give me a headache.

"Would you calm down?" I finally asked, walking over and taking a seat on the couch.

"But Bella, I can't!" She exclaimed, smiling widely as she slid onto the couch beside me. "I can't because everything is so wonderful!"

"Wonderful?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Okay, okay, let me set the scene for you." She leaned towards me and grabbed my hand before getting a far-off look in her eyes as she recalled whatever scene she was supposed to be painting for me. "So there I am at work, at the climbing wall teaching a novice course, when I hear him call me name. At first, I thought I was imagining things. I mean, I didn't even think that Jasper knew where I worked. But I _wasn't _imagining things, Bella. He was there! Actually, physically there, like right in front of me.

"So I tried to keep my cool and walked up to him all 'what are you doing here?' and 'what the hell do you want?'. And then he asked me if we could talk in private so I took him to my office and he just broke down, Bella. Actually had like, pretty much a mental break-down in front of me. He said that he's always loved me and never wanted to leave me. That he didn't have a choice and was just trying to do what was best. But he said that things were changing and we could be together soon, like, _really _be together. And then, oh God, this part made me cry…he said that he'd understand if I couldn't take him back!

"Can you believe that, Bella? The thought of _me _not taking _Jasper _back! So I was crying and he was hugging me and…I mean, I don't know how much of this Edward has filled you in on, but I guess they're all planning some kind of Swan Corp. take-over or…I don't know, Jasper said something about knocking Charlie down a few pegs and setting everything straight. But we're going to be together now! Isn't that just wonderful, Bella?"

Her eyes were so wide and shone so brightly, but I couldn't help my emotions. I was furious. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. In what fucked-up, alternate universe could any of this be _wonderful_? My entire life was falling apart and Alice deemed this as 'wonderful'?

"Alice, are you serious right now?"

She seemed taken aback by my harshness, as though something other than her own happiness was even fathomable right now. She withdrew her hand from mine as though I'd burned her as she stared at me with those big, green eyes that were so reminiscent of her brother's that it was almost hard for me to be mad. But I still was.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked at least, seemingly baffled.

"What's wrong?" I couldn't believe her.

"Yes! What the hell are you so upset about, Bella?"

"Alice, did it ever occur to you that what's going on right now might upset me just a little bit?"

"With Jasper?"

"No, Alice, not with Jasper! I don't care about Jasper. I'm talking about Charlie. About Swan Corp. About everything."

"What do you mean?"

"Alice, you can't be serious." Her silence spoke to the contrary. "My entire world is being flipped upside down here! Charlie's some terrorist weapons smuggler, there's a mutiny in the works, and everyone's been lying to me about it for years! And that's not even the half of it, Alice."

We sat in silence for awhile before Alice finally spoke. Her words were soft, but biting. "You know, Bella, I've been there for you through a lot. I've listened to you bitch and moan about Edward for years, even when all I've wanted to tell you was to suck it up because at least you have someone that loves you. Just this once I wanted you to be there for me, but I guess that was a mistake. If I'd known that it was impossible for you to be happy for me, I wouldn't have wasted my time."

"It's not that I'm not happy for you Alice. I am. It's just that everything is being overshadowed right now. I don't know what's going on and I'm scared and upset and you barging in here shouting about how everything is so wonderful kind of pissed me off a little bit because everything is far from wonderful right now."

Her eyes were still cold, as though nothing I'd said had had any effect on her. "Welcome to my world, Bella." With that, she rose from her seat and left the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

**###**

**Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!**


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